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POMPEII: 


ITS HISTOEY, BUILDINGS, AND ANTIQUITIES. 




\ 










I'KINTKl) BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET 
AND CHARING CROSS. 









RESTOMATI©:^ ©JP FOMPEM 

































































\ 

POMPEII.' 

4 \ 

\ 

\ 

ITS HISTORY, BUILDINGS, AND ANTIQl}jTIE: 


AN ACCOUNT OF ^ 

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY, WITH A FULL DESCRIFTION 
OF THE REMAINS, AND OF THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS, 
AND ALSO AN ITINERARY FOR VISITORS. 


EDITED BY 


THOMAS H^DYER, LL.D., 

u 


OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS. 


ILLUSTBATJUD WITH NEARLY THREE HUNDRED WOOD ENGRAVINGS. 
A LARGE MAP, AND A FLAN OF THE FORUM. 


THIRD EDITION. 


»' 

9 

y 







LONDON: 

BELL Sc DALDV, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN 

1871. . 























! 


CONTENTS. 




PART I. 

THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF POMPEII. 

j PAGR 

j Preface. . 

I Introduction. . 1 

' CHAPTER 1. 

History of Vesuvius ........ 10 

1 

( 

I CHAPTER II. 

I 

Historical Noitce op Pompeii ...... 29 




CHAPTER III. 

Position of Pompeii—Its General Appearance—Roads, Walls, 

Gates, Streets, &c.. . . 5 !) 

CHAPTER IV. 

Origin and Use of Forum—Architectural Classification of 
Buildings—Description of Forum of Pompeii and its 


Temples.91 ‘ 

CHAPTER V. 

The remaining Temples of Pompeii .... 135 



<5 










Y1 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK VI. 

Baths excavated in the years 1824 and 1858 .... 
CHAPTER VII. 

The Theatres ..1S8 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Amphitheatre ........ 215 


PART II. 

THE PRIVATE HOUSES OF POMPEII. 

CHAPTER I. 


Domestic Architectere oe Italy . 

• 

• 

. 248 

CHAPTER 11. 

Pompeian Art. 




CHAPTER III. 

Private Hoeses .. 




CHAPTER IV. 

Hoeses of Pansa and Sallest 

, 


. 318 

CHAPTER V. 

The Via Conselaris, or Domitiana 



. 344 

CHAPTER VI. 

Art of Baking—Fellonica .... 



. 353 


CHAPTFR VII. 

Hovse of the Tragic Poet—of the Great and Little Foen- 

TAiNS—OF Apollo—THE Faen, &c .36G 


0 







CONTENTS. vii 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

. PAGR 

Houses of Castor and Pollux—the Centaur—Meleager, &c. . 400 

CHAPTER IX. 

Survey of the remainder of the City—Inscriptions and 


Graffiti—Casts of Bodies 

• 

• 

. 431 

Suburban Villa . 

CHAPTER X. 



. 480 

Tombs . 

CHAPTER XL 

• 


. 499 

Domestic Utensils 

CHAPTER XII. 

9 


. 532 

Itinerary 

• • 0 • • 

^ ■ 


. 573 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 


ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL AND WOOD. 


Pompeii restored .... 
Plan of the Forum .... 
IMosaic of Battle of Issus . 

Necklace of Amulets 

View of the Villa of M. Arrius Diomedes 

Bronze lamps and vases . 

Painting on walls of Pantheon . 

Plan of excavated portion of Pompeii 


, . PAGE 

To face the Title 

. 90 

. 277 
. 447 

. 481 
. 545 

. 567 

. . End. 


WOODCUTS. 


1. Vignette of the Gate of Herculaneum, from Mazois 



1 

2. Plan of the Bay of Naples 



30 

S. Dramng on a wall in the Street of Mercury 



35 

4. Section of the walls and agger of Pompeii . 



59 

5. Interior battlements restored .... 



60 

0. Walls and towers from without. 



61 

7. Masonry of Pompeii—Isodomon of the Greeks . 



62 

8. Greek wall resembling that of Pompeii 



ih. 

9. Gate of Herculaneum restored .... 



64 

10. Plan of the pavement of Pompeii 



70 

11. Plan of a stepping stone in the street, with biga passing 


71 

12. Window in the house of the Tragic Poet . 



72 

13. View in the Street of Mercury .... 



73 

14. Vignette of Mercuiy with a purse 



75 

15. A steel-yard ....... 



76 

16. Steel-yard called Trutina Campana . 



77 

17. Librae, or Bilances ...... 



78 

18. Fac-simile of Inscription on the walls of a house . 



79 

19. Ditto, on an album ..... 



SO 

20. Ditto ........ 



lb. 

21. View of a sewer ...... 



83 

22. Manner of carrying the Anii^hom 



84 











ILLUSTRATIONS. 


23. Bas-relief of a goat over a milk shop .... 

24. Section of a public fountain. 

25. Jet d’eau; from an Arabesque painting 

26. Fountain near the Gate of Herculaneum . 

27. Bronze cock found in Capri. 

28. Plan showing varieties of temples and intercolumniation 

29. Bronze figures to ornament fountains.... 

30. Painting of a galley in the Pantheon .... 

31. Ditto, of bread, in same ..... 

32. Bronze pastry mould ...... 

33. Gold ring with engraved stone ..... 

34. Painting of Cupids making bread .... 

35. Wall paintings in Temple of Augustus 

36. Ditto, ditto ........ 

37. View of the Temple of Mercury. . . . . 

38. Utensils used in sacrificing ..... 

39. Sacrificial instruments sculptured on altar . 

40. Urn for warm decoctions ...... 

41. Section of the same. 

42. View of Statue of Eumachia and false door. 

43. Plan of columns of the Basilica . 

44. Mosaic border in Temple of VentJfe' ” .^^'* . , 

45. Terminal figure in same . ; . . . 

46. Dwarfs, from a painting, ditto . . . . 

47. Painting of Bacchus and Silenus in priest’s apartment. 

48. Construction of armostyle portico of Forum 

49. View of the Forum from the south .... 

50. Male Centaur and Bacchante ..... 

51. Bas-relief of warrior and biga ..... 

52. View of the Temple of Fortune .... 

53. Bronze helmet found at Pompeii .... 

54. Greaves worn by the gladiators. 

55. Female Centaur and Bacchante .... 

56. Fac-simile ©f inscription in old Baths 

.57. Plan of the old Baths ...... 

58. Section of Apodyterium and Frigidarium . 

59. Frieze of the Apodyterium. 

60. Transverse section of tlie Apodyterium 

61. Chariot race of Cupids in the Frigidarium . 

62. View of the Tepidarium. 

63. Telamones in the Tepidarium. 

64. Brazier in ditto ....... 

65. Bronze seat in ditto ....... 

66. Section of the Caldarium. 


IX 

PAGE 

85 

87 

88 

89 

90 
93 

101 

106 

109 
ib. 

110 
111 
112 

113 

114 
116 
117 
120 

ib 

- 122 
. 125 

129 

130 
ib:"' 

131 
< 132 

I3?\v' 

134 P 

135 

136 

147 

148 

153 

154 
157 

159 

160 
161 
162 

163 

164 

165 

166 
167 










X 


ILLUSTRATIONS 




67. Part of the ceiling of Caldarium 

68. Ornament of the Tepidarium .. 

69. Stucco ornaments in ceiling of ditto . 

70. Ornaments in the Tepidarium . 

71. Plan of Stabian Baths .... 

72. Strigiles ...... 

73. View of we^t side of Stabian Baths . 

74. Vases for perfumes ..... 

75. Figure with a mask. .... 

76. Comic scene from a painting at Pompeii . 

77. Another ...... 

78. Another ...... 

79. Plan of a Eoman theatre .... 

80. Masks, dwarf and monkey, from a painting. 

81. Tragic mask, from the Townley Collection. 

82. Another, from the same .... 

83. Masks from an ancient M S. of Terence 

84. Tragic and grotesque masks 

85. >^fc^hed figure of Silemis .... 

86. Comic scene from a painting at Pompeii . 

87. Tragic scene, ditto . .. . , 

88. INIosaic of a Choragus instructing actors 
8t). Plan of the large theatre,at Pompeii . 

90. View of the same. 

91. Flute-player, from a painting . 

Slone rings for masts of Velarium 

93. Plan of the small theatre at Pompeii. 

Bisellium, or chair of state 
^ 95. View of the small theatre 

96. View of the Amphitheatre at Pompeii. 

97. Gladiators, from a painting on wall of arena 

98. Bestiarius, or combatant of wild beasts 

99. Bestiarii, or combatants with wild beasts . 

100. Bestiarius, resembling the Spanish matador 

101. Equestrian gladiators , ... 

102. Gladiators ; a Veles and a Samnite . 

103. Ditto, Thrax, Myrmillo, Eetiarii, and Secutores 

104. Ditto, a Veles and Samnite 

105. Ditto, Lanista, Myrmillo, and Samnite 

106. Ditto, Samnite and Myrmillo . 

107. Wild boar hunt ...... 

108. Bestiarius and boar .... 

109. Bestiarius and bull .... 

110. Helmets and greaves of Gladiators 


PAGE 

169 

170 

171 

172 
175 

179 

180 

187 

188 

190 
ib- 

191 

192 

195 

196 

197 

198 
ib. 

199 

200 
201 

203 

204 
206 

207 

208 
210 
211 
213 
216 
227 

229 

230 

231 

233 

234 

236 

237 

238 
ib. 

239 

zb. 

ib. 

240 









ILLUSTRATIONS. 


111. Plan of the Amphitheatre at Pompeii 

• 

• 



112. Bronze helmet worn by a gladiator . 

• 

• 



113. Enriched echinus moulding 




. . 

114. Ionic capital . . . . 




i 

115. Cabin of the aboriginal Latins 




. 4 

116. Dancing Fauns, from painted walls of Pompeii 



. 4 

117. Fragment of a plan of Rome 




1 4. 

118, Ancient bolt ..... 




2 41 

119. Key and hinge .... 




2> 42'. 

120. Door handles .... 




429 

121. Door of a private dwelling restored . 

• 


, 

26 ih. 

122. Doric capital .... 

» 



27i431 

123. Biga, from an Arabesque 

• 



273132 

124. Mosaic picture by Dioscorides . 




276134 

125. Scipio, Masinissa, and Sophonisba 




292 36 

126. A female painting the bearded Bacchus 




294 18 

127. Studio of an ancient painter 

• 



295 -I 

128. Statuette of the dancing Faun 

• 



296 

129. Ditto of Silenus . . . 

• 



297 

130. Ditto of Narcissus .... 




298 

131. Curule chair, from a Pompeian picture 

• 


. 

300 

132. Beehives made of bronze , , 

• 


, . 

301 

133. Ground plan of a shop 

• 

• 


303 

134. View of a cook’s shop restored 


• 

• 

304 

135. Street view near the old Baths 


• 

• 

305 

136. Ground plan of a shop 

• 


• 

306 

137. Ground plan of a small house . 

• 


* 

•308 

138. Bed and table, from a painting 

• 


. 

309 

139. Plan of a Triclinium 

• 


, 

310 

140. Picture of a domestic supper 

• 

• 


311 

141. Ground plan of a smvall house . 

• 

• 

• 

312 

142. Painting of Circe and Ulysses . 


• 

. 

313 

143. Plan of house of Queen Caroline 


• 

• 

315 

144. INIercury, from a painting . 

• 

• 

. 

317 

145. Dancing Faun .... 

• 

• 

. 

318 

14<5. Plan of Pansa’s house 





147. View of entrance of ditto 

• 

• 

. 

323 

148. Religious painting in kitchen of ditto 

• 

• 

. 

325 

149. Kitchen stove in ditto 


• 

. 

320 

150. A flat ladle, or trua 


• 

. 

ib. 

151. Atrium of Pansa’s house 


• 

. 

327 

] 52. Ground plan of house of Sallust 



. 

329 

153. View of entrance to ditto 


• 

. 

331 

154. Summer Triclinium in garden of ditto 


• 

• 

336 









ILLUSTRATIONS. 


picture 


house, the 


enereum in house of Sallust . 

..trium of ditto 

Jornice of the Impluviura in ditto 
Painting of the manner of hanging a 
Ciirule seat .... 

Female figure with papyri 
. Figure playing the liarp . 

Figure reading a roll of papyrus 
j. Figure from house of female dancers 
4. A dancing Faun 
Jo. Bas-relief of a mule and mill . 

66. Section of a mill 
'67. Painting of serpents in a bakehouse 

168. Bread discovered in Pompeii 

169. Painting of fullers at work 

170. Carding a tunic, from the Fullonica 

171. Clothes press, from the same 

172. Small painting in Tragic Poet’s house 

173. Ground plan of island containing Tragic Poet’ 

Fullonica, and Great and Small Fountains 

174. Mosaic of Cave Canem .... 

175. Painting of Achilles delivering up Briscis 

176. Head of Achilles 

177. Painted wall in Tragic Poet’s hous§ 

178. Female and Cupid fishing 

179. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia 

180. Leda and Tyndareus 

181. Painting of Centaurs 

182. Atrium of Poet’s house restored 

183. House of the Great Fountain . 

184. Cupid milking a goat 

185. Farm yard scene 

186. House of the Faun 

187. Acratus on a panther 

188. Mosaic of doves 

189. Atrium of house of Ceres 

190. Painting of Jupiter 

191. Painting in house of Poet 

192. Curricle bar, from a Pompeian picture 

193. Eustic work and .cornices, from house of Castor and Pollux . 

194. I’lan of house of Castor and Pollux 

195. Atrium of house of Qumstor 

196. Thetis dipping Achilles in the Styx 

197. Piscina in house of Castor and Pollux 


PAGE 

339 

341 

342 

343 

344 

348 

349 
tb. 

351 

352 

353 
356 
358 

360 

361 

363 

364 

366 

367 

368 

372 

373 

377 

378 

379 

380 

382 

383 

386 

387 
389 
392 

394 

395 

397 

398 

399 

400 

401 
403 
405 
409 
411 









ILLU&TUATIONS. 


198. 

199. 

200 . 
201 . 
202 . 

203. 

204. 

205. 

206. 

207. 

208. 

209. 

210 . 
211 . 
212 . 

213. 

214. 

215. 

216. 

217. 

218. 

219. 

220 . 
221 . 
222 . 

223. 

224. 

225. 

226. 

227. 

228. 

229. 

230. 
'231. 

232. 

233. 

234. 

235. 

236. 

237. 

238. 

239. 

240. 

241. 


Painting of Perseus and Andromeda 
Ditto of Medea and her children 
Manner of filling the amphorae 
Amphorae .... 

A drinking scene 
INIeleager returned from hunting 
Plan of house of the Nereids 
Fountain and table in ditto 
Capital in ditto 
Section of house of Nereids 
Elevation of part of Street of Tombs 
Helmet, sword, &c. 

Bacchus, from a painting 
Doorway in Street of Abundance 
Tools found in house of Sculptor 
Ground plan of house of Joseph II. 
Atrium of house of Championnet 
House of Holconius 
Painting of Bacchus and Ariadne 
House of Cornelius Rufus 


Painting of writing tablet, &c., in ditto 
House of Lucretius 
Ground plan of ditto 
Painting of Hercules drunk 
View of House of the Balcony 
Plaster casts of bodies 
Portico of house of Diomedes 
Ground plan of ditto 
Funeral column 

Ground plan of Street of Tombs 
Tomb of the marble door 
Funeral Triclinium 
Tomb of Naevoleia Tyche 
Bas-relief of ditto . 

Ditto, ditto 

Bisellium on tomb of Calventius 
Tomb of Scaurus, round tomb, and tomb 
Bas-relief on wall of circular tomb 
Section of round tomb 
Exedra in Street of Tombs 
Gold ring .... 
Elevation of Mamia’s tomb restored 
Money bag and coins . . 

Papyri and tabulae . * • 




Calventiu 


4 

4 

4; 

42 

42'. 

429 

ih. 

431 

432 
434 
436 
438 

- 441 
445 
452 

454 

455 

456 
, 457 

464 
, 474 

, 476 

, 480 
, 484 
, 509 

, 510 

, 514 

. 515 

. 518 

. 519 

. 521 

. 522 

. 524 

. '525 
. .526 

. 527 
. 52P 

. 5.' 











ILLUSTTIATIOXS. 


Tabulse, calamu?, aTicl papyrus 







PAGE 

534 

Tabulae, stylus, and papyrus 

. 






535 

. Tabulae and Calamus 

. 






ih. 

). Scriixium and capsa 

. 






536 

3. Calendar 

. 






538 

7. A bronze lantern . 

. 






540 

:8. Section of ditto 

. 






541 

i9. Upright of ditto 

. 






542 

150. Extinguisher 

. 






ih. 

251. Candelabra 

. 






544 

252. Bronze figure inlaid with embletic work 





547 

253. Candelabrum 

• 






549 

251. Moveable tripod 

. 






550 

255. Brazier .... 

, 






551 

256. Kitchen utensils 







ib. 

257. Brazier 







552 

258. Bronze vase . 







553 

259. Simpula 

• 






554 

260. Kitchen utensils of bronze 

. 



. 


• 

ih 

261. Ditto, ditto . 







555 

262. Terra cotta vase 







ih. 

263. Khyton, or drinking cup 

• 






556 

264. Grotesque vases 

• 






557 

265. Glass vases . 







558 

266. Clay liquor-basket and glass vessels 






559 

267. Ornamental drinking glasses 

• 






ih. 

268. Glass vessels 







564 

269. Bronze strainer " . 







ih. 

270. Draped female statue 







566 

271, Figure dressed in the Tunico-pallium 





567 

272. Tunico-pallium displayed 

, 






568 

273. Harp-player . 







569 

274. Ditto with the plectrum . 







570 

275. Earring 







571 

276. Ditto, gold pin, and ring 







572 

277. Combs 







ib. 









peefacE. 


The work no'w offered to the reader is based on one originally 
published between thirty and forty years ago under the 
superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
Knowledge, which became deservedly popular, and has been 
several times reprinted; bat it was never re-edited, although, 
in the long period of tirae that has elapsed since its first 
publication, considerable progress has of course been made 
in the excavations at Pompeii. The present work has 
therefore been undertaken with the view of supplying seme 
account of these more recent excavations, and thus rendering 
the book a more full aud accurate description of Pompeii in 
its present state. 

For this purpose much new matter has been added, previous 
descriptions have beei altered and enlarged, and new names 
that have been givei to streets, buildings, &c., have been 
inserted. T'he method of the book seemed also capable of 
improvemenifc by transposing some of the descriptions; and 
indeed the author of the original work has now and then 
indicated where this might be done with advantage. 

The necessary additions would have rendered the volume 
of inconvenient size had all the original matter been retained. 




ri 


PREFACE 


a view to avoid this inconvenience, son.e descriptions 
vhich did not appear to be much connected with the subject, 
juch as those of the remains of Greek wallt?, of the baths 
at Eome, of the origin of the Greek theatre, .^c., have been 
omitted. The Editor may mention that, w:th a view to 
bring down the information to the latest mcment, he fre¬ 
quently visited Pompeii during a residence at Naples in 
the winter of 1865-6, and studied the best and latest 
authorities on the subject. An Itinerary at tl 
volume may serve to render it a guide for trav 
as an index to the principal objects. It may I 
several new illustrations have been given, b 
map of the excavations, reduced from the C 
Fiorelli’s jdan, with that gentlenian’s kind perr 


be end of the 
ellers, as well 
>e added that 
esides a new 
lommendatore 
uission. 


London, March, 1867. 


J 




\ 



\ 


^ i 





PART I. 


THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF POMPEII. 



Vignette from Mazois’ view of the city at the gate of Herculaneum 


INTRODUCTION. 

The minute studies of antiquaries have been a very favourite 
subject of ridicule with those who have not followed them-— 
sometimes with, sometimes without reason. In this, as in 
every other pursuit, men are apt to forget the value of the 
object in the pleasure of the chase, and run down some incom¬ 
prehensible or untenable theory about some matter that never 
was and never will be of importance, with a zeal and intensity 
of purpose which might have been better bestowed upon a 
better end. But notwithstanding the many jokes, good and 
bad, deserved and undeserved, which have been levelled at 
this branch of learning, it is one in which all inquiring minds 
(and no mind that is not inquiring can be worth much), not 
entirely engrossed by some favourite occupation, will feel more 
or less of interest. If we could look into the future, the past 
would probably lose much of its importance in our eyes; and 





2 


POMPEII. 


our curiosity would be muck more strongly excited to ascer¬ 
tain tke state of the world a thousand years hence, than its 
state a thousand years ago. But this power is denied us; 
and to form an estimate of the character and capabilities of 
mankind more comprehensive than the experience of a single 
generation can afford, we must apply to the retrospect of the 
past. Not that this curiosity influences none but those who 
might wish or be expected or draw profit from its gratification; 
on the contrary, it seems a temper natural, in greater or less 
fiegree, to all alike, reflecting or unreflecting. It is that 
which causes us to look with pleasure on an antiquated town, 
to grope among ruins, even where there is evidently nothing 
to repay us for the dirt and trouble of the search ; and gene¬ 
rally to invest everything entirely out of date ^vith a value 
wliich its original possessors would be much puzzled to 
understand. 

But time works constantly, as well as slowly ; and there¬ 
fore, however antiquated the appearance, and however old- 
fashioned and changeless the habits of any place or people 
may seem to be, they are sure to present a very imperfect 
type of what they were even a single century ago. We have 
often wished, in various parts of England, that we could 
recall for a moment the ancient aspect of the country; 
reclothe the downs of Wiltshire with their native sward, and 
see them studded with tumuli and Druid temples, free and 
boundless as they extended a thousand years ago, before the 
devastations of the plough and Inclosure Acts; recall the 
leafy honours of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, and re¬ 
people the neighbourhood of Sheffield and the Don with oaks 
instead of steam-engine and manufactory chimneys; or re¬ 
new the decayed splendour of those magnificent monasteries 
whose ruins still strike the beholder with admiration. If the 
romantic fictions of the middle ages could be realised, which 
tell of mirrors framed with magic art to represent what had 
formerly passed, or was passing, in distant parts of the earth, 
the happy discoverer might soon make his fortune in this age 
of exhibitions. What exhibition could be found more inte- 
I'esting than a camera-obscura, which should reflect past 
incidents of historical or private interest, and recall, with the 
vividness and minuteness of life, at least the external charac¬ 
teristics of long past ages! 


INTRODUCTION. 


3 

Such fancies are but idle speculations. The past can only 
be recalled by the imagination working upon such details as 
the pen or the pencil of contemporaries may have preserved; 
yet, in one single instance, the course of events has done 
more to preserve a living picture of a former age—one, too, 
in which the civilized world is deeply interested—than we 
could reasonably have hoped for. Deserted places are usually 
too much dilapidated to convey more than a very imperfect 
idea of the minutife of their arrangement, or of the manners 
of their former occupiers: places which have been preserved 
by being inhabited, are, of necessity, changed more or less to 
suit the changing manners of those who tenant them. It was, 
therefore, matter of no ordinary interest when it was known 
that a buried Roman city had been discovered; a city over¬ 
whelmed and sealed up in the height of its prosperity, and 
preserved from the ravages of the barbarian conquerors of 
Italy, and the sacrilegious alterations and pillagings of 
modern hands. But the hopes which might reasonably have 
been formed upon the discovery of Herculaneum, at the 
beginning of the last century, were frustrated in great measure 
by the depth and hardness of the volcanic products under 
which that city was buried. The process of clearing it was 
necessarily one of excavation, not of denudation ; and to 
avoid the labour of raising the quarried matter to the surface, 
from a depth of 70 or 80 feet, former excavations have been 
filled up with the rubbish of new excavations, and now, 
besides a few houses, the theatre is the only building open to 
inspection, and that an unsatisfactory and imperfect inspec¬ 
tion by torch-iight. Museums have been profusely enriched 
with various articles of use or luxury discovered at. Hercu¬ 
laneum, which might serve to illustrate the Latin authors, and 
throw light upon the private life of Italy; but no compre¬ 
hensive view could be obtained, and consequently no new 
idea formed of the disposition and appearance of a Roman 
city. Fortunately, the disappointment was repaired by the 
discovery of Pompeii, a companion city overwhelmed in the 
great eruption of Vesuvius, a. d. 79, together with Hercu¬ 
laneum, and destined to be the partner of its disinterment as 
well as its burial. There was, however, this difference in 
their fate—that, owing to its greater distance from the 
volcano, as well as its more elevated situation, Pompeii, 


4 : 


POMPEII. 


was not reached by the streams of lava which have succes¬ 
sively flowed over Herculaneum, and elevated the surface of the 
earth from 70 to 100 feet. Pompeii was buried by a shower 
of ashes, pumice, and stones, forming a bed of variable depth, 
but seldom excceeding 20 or 24 feet, loose and friable in 
texture, and therefore easily removed, so as completely to 
uncover and expose the subjacent buildings. 

The upper stories of the houses, which appear to have 
consisted chiefly of wood, were either burnt by the red-hot 
stones ejected from Vesuvius, or broken down by the weight 
of matter collected on their roofs and floors. With this 
exception, we see a flourishing city in the very state in which it 
existed nearly eighteen centuries ago :—the buildings as they 
were originally designed, not altered and patched to meet the 
exigencies of newer fashions; the paintings undimmed by the 
leaden touch of time ; household furniture left in the con¬ 
fusion of use ; articles, even of intrinsic value, abandoned in 
the hurry of escape, yet safe from the robber, or scattered 
about as they fell from the trembling hand, which could not 
pause or stoop for its most valuable possessions: and, in some 
instances, the bones of the inhabitants, bearing sad testimony 
to the suddenness and completeness of the calamity which 
overwhelmed them. “ I noticed,” says M. Simond, “ a strik¬ 
ing memorial of this mighty interruption in the Forum, 
opposite to the temple of Jupiter. A new altar of white 
marble, exquisitely beautiful, and apparently just out of the 
hands of the sculptor, had been erected there; an enclosure 
was building all round; the mortar, just dashed against the 
side of the wall, was but half spread out; you saw the long 
sliding .stroke of the trowel about to return and obliterate 
its own track—but it never did return : the hand of the work¬ 
man was suddenly arrested, and, after the lapse of 1800 years, 
the whole looks so fresh and new that you would almost 
swear that the mason was only gone to his dinner, and about 
to come back immediately to smooth the roughness.” 

It is unnecessary to expatiate upon the interest of these 
discoveries ; yet notwithstanding their interest the subject 
has been hardly accessible to the English reader. The 
excavations have been prosecuted to a considerable extent 
since the elegant work of Sir W. Gell was published, which 
describes only the buildings, leaving untouched one interest- 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 

ing brancli of inquiry connected with tbe numerous articles 
which have been found, throwing light upon the private life 
of the Italians in the first century. There are foreign works 
of great research and magnificence, but these, from their 
price, are only accessible to a very small class of readers; 
and therefore little has been generally known of Pompeii, 
except what may be gathered from the short and scattered 
notices of travellers. This work is intended as an attempt 
to supply the deficiency. It is proposed, first, to give a 
detailed account of the ruins as they now exist, together with 
a description of their former state, as far as it can be made 
out; with occasional digressions upon points connected with 
the history or antiquities of the place, and notices of the most 
curious and important articles which have been discovered. 
The first part will contain the public edifices, so far as they 
have yet been disinterred: the second will be devoted to the 
houses and private habits of their tenants. 

The chief authorities which have been consulted, are—the 
great work of M. Mazois on Pompeii; the ‘ Museo Borbonico,’ 
a periodical work now in course of publication at Naples; 
Sir W. Gell’s ‘ Pompeiana and Donaldson’s ‘ Pompeii.’ We 
have also had the advan1;age of numerous observations made 
on the spot by Mr. William Clarke, architect, by whom the 
materials for this work have been collected and the drawings 
made, either from the originals or from plates in the above 
works. 

For the use of such readers as may wish to enter upon a 
deeper study of the subject, we shall here add a list of the 
principal books that may be consulted.* 

Among these, the work of Mazois, already mentioned, is 
one of the first, both in point of time and of importance. 
Mazois resided at Naples during the years 1809, 1810, and 
1811, and was encouraged and assisted in his researches by 
Queen Caroline, the wife of Murat, who took a great interest 
in Pompeii, and to whom he dedicated his book. Mazois 
died in 1826, before he had finished his work, which was 
continued by Gau. Its title is Les Buines de Pomjpei, des~ 

* A most extraordinary instance of book-making on this subject was the 
work of a certain Monsignor Ba3’ardi; in which, at the end of two thick 
quartos, Hercules had not yet arrived at the Campi Phlegraei, and consequently 
the foundation of Herculaneum and Pompeii had not been laid. 


POMPEII. 


G 

sinks et mesurees par Fr. Mazois, arcliitecte, pendant les annees 
1809, 1810, et 1811: 4 vols. large folio, Paris, Diclot, 1812— 
1838. It contains nearly 200 plates, and embraces tbe results 
of tbe excavations from 1757 to 1821. 

Sir W. Gell’s Pompeiana consists of two series, each of 
two octavo volumes, of which the first series was published 
at London, in 1824, and the second in 1830. The former 
contains an account of the excavations down to the year 1819; 
which is continued in the latter. It has many illustrations, 
some of them coloured. 

Donaldson’s Pompeii, illustrated with Picturesque Vieics, 
engraved hy W. P. Coohe, was published in London in 182/. 
2 vols. large fol. 

The French work of Breton, Pompeia, decrite et dessinee, par 
Ernest Breton, 2nd edition, Paris, 1855, is a handsome book, 
with many good illustrations, and describes, in one large 8vo. 
voL, at a moderate price, the progress of the excavations till 
about the last ten or twelve years. 

A more elaborate work than this, and more accurate in 
point of scholarship, is that of Overbeck, Pompeji,m seinen 
Gebduden, Alterthumern und Kunstwerhen, fiir Kunst- und 
Altertlmms-freunde dargestellt. Leipsic, Engelmann, Over¬ 
beck published his first edition in 1856, with()ut having 
visited Pompeii, and the book consequently contained many 
errors and imperfections. These, however, have been reme¬ 
died in a second edition, the fruits of a visit to Pompeii, 
to be completed in the present year, and consisting of two 
volumes, illustrated with numerous cuts. The first volume 
contains the history and topography of the city, with an 
account of the buildings ; the second is devoted to Pompeian 
art. Overbeck’s book is, for its compass, undoubtedly the 
' fullest and most accurate yet published; though the desire 
to be original, the besetting sin of most German writers, 
leads him now and then into some crotchety theories. The 
volume published contains no account of the tombs ; an omis¬ 
sion which will probably be supplied in the second volume. 

The handsomest work on Pompeii is that of Fausto and 
Felice Niccolini, now publishing in numbers, entitled, Le Case 
cd i Monumenti di Pompei, disegnati e descritti, fob, Napoli, 
1864; but its price will place it beyond the reach of most 
readers. It contains beautifully coloured plates, besides 


INTRODUCTION. 7 

ground-plans, cuts, &c., with descViptive letter-press. Thirty- 
two numbers are already published, at 15 francs each. 

To those who are studying Pompeii thoroughly and 
historically, the work of the Commendatore Fiorelli, the 
present able director of the excavations and of the Museum 
of Naples, is indispensable. It is entitled Pompeianarum 
Antiquitatum Historia, and contains, in two 8vo. vols., each of 
three Fasciculi, the records of the excavations, from their 
commencement in 1748 down to 1860, collected from the 
journals of the directors. These are printed verbatim; not a 
record of the discovery of a nail, or bolt, or fragment of 
statuary, or earthenware, is omitted; so that the reader will 
find the materials for a history rather than the history itself, 
which the somewhat magnificent title of the book may have 
led him to expect. To the archaeological student of Pompeii, 
the book, however, is of course invaluable; and it is only to 
be wished that its perusal had been facilitated by the 
promised index, or by a commentary. The first part of the 
journals, down to July, 1764, is in Spanish; after that date 
in Italian. After the appointment of Signor Fiorelli to the 
direction of the excavations, he continued to publish the 
progress of them in a periodical work in numbers, entitled, 
Giornale degli Scavi di Pompei, which, however, appeared 
irregularly, and has been brought, we fear, to a premature 
conclusion. The title of it is as much too modest as that of 
the History is too grand; since it contains, besides the 
journal of the excavations, elaborate descriptions of the more 
important houses and works of art discovered, as well as 
literary disquisitions on matters relating to Pompeii. 

Besides the substantive works here enumerated, many 
interesting and important papers and pamphlets on subjects 
connected with Pompeii have been published separately, and 
in various journals, by eminent Italian and other archaeo¬ 
logists, as Quaranta, Niccolini, Arditi, Avellino, Bonucci, 
Fiorelli, Minervini, and others. They will be found in the 
Memorie della reale Accademia di ArcTieologia di Napoli, the 
Annali delV Institute di coirispondenza Arclieologica (Rome and 
Paris, 1829-57), and the Bulletino Archeologico Napolitano, of 
Avellino, afterwards continued by Minervini. 

M. Marc Monnier, of Geneva, has also published some 
good papers on Pompeii in the Bevue des Deux Moudes, as 


POMPEII. 


8 

well as a little book on tlie'subject, wbicli will be useful to 
those who read as they run, and wish rather to be amused 
than instructed. 

There are also separate works on remarkable Pompeian 
buildings, as that of Raoul Rochette: La 3Iaison du^ Poke 
Tragique a Pompei, avec ses Peintiires et MosaUqiies fidkement 
reproduites et un texte explicatif, fob, Paris : of Bechi, Del 
Calcidico e della cripta di Eimachia scavati nel foro di 
Pompeia, Vanno 1820, 4to., Napoli: of Millin, Description des 
Tomheaux qui ont ete decouverts a Pompei dans I'annee 1812, 
Naples, 1813; and works by Falkener and Giulio Minervini 
on the house of Lucretius, &c., &c. 

The inscriptions discovered at Pompeii are best given by 
Mommsen, in his Inscriptiones Begni Neapolitani^ p. 112 seq. 
They do not comprehend, however, the graffiti, or inscriptions 
traced with a sharp point on walls and columns. These will 
be found, up to the date of the respective works, in Dean 
Wordsworth’s Pompeian Inscriptions, or Specimens and Fac¬ 
similes of Ancient Writings on the Walls of Buildings at 
Pompeii, London, 1846 ; and in Garrucci’s Graffiti di Pompei, 
4to., Paris, 1856 ; which also contains some ingenious remarks 
on ancient WTiting. 

Signor Fiorelli has commenced a work entitled, 3Ionumenfa 
Epigraphica Pompeiana ad fidem arclietyporum expressa, being 
fac-similes of the existing inscriptions. Only the first part, 
containing the Oscan inscriptions, has been published. 

There are many rich and voluminous publications on the 
subject of Pompeian art. One of the earliest of them is the 
Antichita di Ercolano e Pompei, large fob, 9 vols., Nai)oli, 
1755—1792. Many of the subjects of this book, as well as 
others from other sources, were reproduced in a h’rench work 
published at Paris by Didot, in 8 vols. large 8vo, and entitled 
‘ Herculaneum et Pompei Becveil general de Peintures, Bronzes, 
31osaiques, Ac., decouverts, jusqu’a ce jour et reproduits d'apres 
le Antichita d' Ercolano, II 3Iuseo Borhonico, et tons les 
ouvrages analogues, augmente de sujets inedits graves du trait 
sur cuivre par 31. Boux aine, et accompagne d'un texte explicatif 
par 31. L. Barre. The Beal 3Iuseo Borhonico, begun in 1824, 
forms 14 vols. 4to. in the Italian edition, and, though un¬ 
equally executed, is the richest collection of Neapolitan 
antiquities. 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


The work of Eaonl Eochetto may also be mentioned, 
entitled Choix de Peintures de Pompei, la plupart de sujet His- 
torique, avec Vexplication., et une introduction sur VJiistoire de la 
Peinture cJiez hs Gh'ecs et chez les Bomains, with coloured plates, 
large fob, Paris, 1844. There are also many other separate 
publications, which it would be too long to enumerate; and 
we shall content ourselves with only mentioning the German 
work of Ternite, Wandgemdlde aus Pompei und Herculanum^ 
mit einem erlduternden Texte, von E. O.Miiller, Berlin, 1844 ; 
and with reminding the reader that the second volume of 
Overbeck’s new edition is devoted to the subject of Pompeian 
art. 

It remains to mention that the best plan of Pompeii is that 
of Eiorelli, entitled Tabula Golonwe Venerice Cornelice Pompeis. 
It is in 42 sheets, which, put together, form a superficies of 
140 square palms, being the 333 a part of the true superficies. 
The small plan, reduced from this, and sold at the gates of 
Pompeii, is on the scale of 1666 parts of the true superficies. 
There is also a good plan by Jorio. 


10 


POMPEII, 


CHAPTER L 

HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 

Before commencing the account of Pompeii itself, it will 
not be out of place to give a short description of the ancient 
state of the neighbourhood in which it stood, together with a 
sketch of the history of Vesuvius. 

The Bay of Naples, anciently called Crater (the Cup), was 
known to the ancients at an early period. The remark¬ 
able appearance of its shores struck their fancy; and they 
named them Phlegra, or Phlegraei Campi, Burnt Fields, from 
the traces of igneous action everywhere visible, and ac¬ 
counted for these natural appearances by the fabled battle 
between the giants and the gods, assisted by Hercules, in 
which the giants were cast down and destroyed by Jupiter’s 
thunderbolts. The earth, riven, scorched, and thunder- 
stained, bore enduring witness to the destructive power of 
these weapons. Here was the celebrated lake Avernus, the 
inouth of hell, according to the Italian poets, over which no 
bird could complete its flight, but dropped, overcome by the 
suliihureous exhalations. This is one, jirobably, of" that 
numerous tribe of legends which have been framed to fit or 
to explain a name. Its Greek name is Aornos, literallv 
Birdless; its dreary and terror-striking appearance, when its 
preeipitous sides were thickly clothed with wood, suggested 
the notion that it was the opening of the nether world ; hence 
the story of the foetid atmosphere and its deadly effects 
Yet even here there may be some foundation of truth; for 
we have the authority of Sir William Hamilton for stating, 
that while wild fowl abound in other pools and lakes in 
this quarter, they shun Avernus, or pay it but a passing visit.* 
Diodorus derives the name of Phlegra from Vesuvius, which, 
he says, like .dStna, used to vomit fire, and still retains traces 
of its former eruptions.! He spoke from observation of the 

* Campi Phlegrgei. Mr. Lyell is also inclined to admit the storv. and 
adduces instances of similar mephitic exhalations. 

t iv. 21. 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


11 


mountain, not from tradition, for tradition recorded no erup¬ 
tion previous to the Christian era ; but he probably erred in 
the derivation of the name. Traces of volcanic action were 
as evident round Baia3 and Puteoli as on Vesuvius; and the 
ancients appear to have had some record- of eruptions in this 
quarter, since they fabled that the giant Typhon, who threw 
stones to heaven with a loud noise, and from whose eyes and 
mouth fire proceeded, lay buried under the neighbouring 
island of Inarime or Pithecusa, now called Ischia.* A 
similar fable accounted for the eruptions of iEtna. 

By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high, 

By turns hot embers from her entrails dy, 

And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky. 

Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown. 

And, shivered by the force, come piecemeal down. 

Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow, 

Fed fi om the fiery springs that boil below. ' 

Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove, 

With blasted limbs came trembling fiom above; 

And where he fell the avenging father drew 
This blasted hill, and on his body threw. 

As often as he turns his weary sides 

He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the heavens hides. 

' Drvden, uEn. lib. iii. 572. 

We need hardly say that the poets vary in these stories: 
Ovid places Typhon under ^tna. 

In the superstitions of the middle ages Vesuvius assumed 
the character which had before been given to Avernus, and 
was regarded as the mouth of hell. Cardinal Damiano relates 
the following stories, in a letter addressed to Pope Nicholas 
II. “ A servant of God dwelt alone, near Naples, on a lofty 
rock hard by the highway. As this man was .singing hymns 
by night, he opened the window of his cell to observe the 
hour; when, lo! he saw passing many men, black as Mthi- 
opians, driving a large troop of packhorses laden with hay ; 
and he was anxious to ask who they were, and why they 
carried with them this fodder for cattle? And they an¬ 
swered, ‘ We are evil spirits; and this food which we prepare 
is not for flocks or herds, but to foment those fires which are 
kindled against men’s souls ; for we wait, first for Pandul- 
phus, Prince of Capua, who now lies sick; and then for 

* Strabo, lib. v. c. 4., § 9. 


POMPEII. 


12 

John, the captain of the garrison of Naples, who as yet is 
alive and well.’ Then went that man of God to John, and 
related faithfully that which he had seen and heard. At 
that time the Emperor Otho II., being about to wage war on 
the Saracens, was journeying toward Calabria. John there¬ 
fore answered, ‘ I must first go reverently and meet the 
Emperor, and take counsel with him concerning the state of 
this land. But after he is gone I promise to forsake thfe 
world, and to assume the monastic habit.’ Moreover, to 
prove whether the j)riest’s story were true, he sent one to 
Capua, who found Pandulphus dead; and John himself 
lived scarce fifteen days, dying before the Emj)eror reached 
those parts; upon whose death the mountain Vesuvius, from 
which hell often belches forth, broke out into flames, as 
might clearly be proved, because the hay which those demons 
got ready was nothing else than the fire of that fell confla¬ 
gration j)repared for these reprobate and wicked men; for as 
often as a reprobate rich man dies in those parts, the fii’e is 
seen to burst from the above-named mountain, and such a 
mass of sulphureous resin flows from it as makes a torrent 
which by its downward impulse descends even to the sea. 
And in verity a former prince of Palermo once saw' from a 
distance sulphureous pitchy flames burst out from Vesuvius, 
and said that surely some rich man was just about to die, 
and go down to hell. Alas for the blinded minds of evil 
men! That very night, as he lay regardless in bed, he 
breathed his last. There w^as also a Neapolitan priest, who 
wished to know more of things not lawful to be knowm, w'ho, 
w’hen that infernal pit belched flames more fiercely than 
usual, with presumptuous boldness resolved to visit it. So 
liaving solemnized the mass, he went on his way, armed, as 
it w^ere, with the sacred vestments; but this rash inquirer, 
approaching nearer than men use to go, never reappeared, 
being unable to return. Another priest, who had left his 
mother sick at Beneventum, as he travelled througli the 
bounds of Naples, and w'as intent upon the upstreaming 
flames, heard a voice of one bewailing, which he perceived 
evidently to be the voice of his mother. He marked the 
time, and found it to have been the hour of her death.”* 
This passage is taken from a letter from Cardinal Damiano 
* Damiani Epistolae, lib. i. 9. 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


13 

to Pope Nicholas II., written about the year 1060. The 
superstition was natural enough; and similar ones were 
entertained at a much later date concerning .^tna and the 
island of Stromboli, in which there is a volcano in almost 
constant activity. 

Strabo, who wrote some part of his work at least in the 
reign of Tiberius, about the commencement of our era, thus 
describes the Phlegraean Fields :—“ After doubling Misenum, 
next comes a lake* (now Mare Morto), beyond which the 
coast falls back in a deep bay, where stands Baise and its 
warm baths, useful both for purposes of pleasure and for the 
cm*e of diseases. The Lucrine lake borders upon Baise; 
within it is lake Avernus. Here our ancestors placed the 
scene of Homer’s Nekuia;| and here, they say, was an 
oracle, where answers were returned by the dead, to which 
Ulysses came. Avernus is a deep hollow with a narrow 
entrance, in size and shape well suited for a harbour, but 
incapacitated for that purpose by the shallow Lucrine lake 
which lies before it. It is enclosed by steep ridges, which 
overhang it everywhere, except at the entrance, now highly 
cultivated, but formerly enclosed by a savage trackless forest 
of large trees, which threw a superstitious gloom over the 
hollow. The inhabitants further fabled that the birds 
which flew over it fell down into the water,-destroyed by the 
rising exhalations, as in other places of this sort, which the 
Greeks call Plutonia, or places sacred to Pluto; and imagined 
that Avernus was a Plutonium, and the abode where the 
Cimmerians were said to dwell. * Here is a fountain of fresh 
water by the sea; but all persons abstain from it, believing 
it to be the Styx; and somewhere near was the oracle. 
Here, also, as they thought, was Pyriphlegethon,J judging 
from the hot springs near lake Acherusia. The Lucrine 

* The text has a harbour, though some of the Latin versions have 

palm {Xiixvit)). 

t The title of the Xlth book of the Odyssey, the scene of which is laid 
among the dead. 

X Pyriphlegethon, burning with fire; one of the three rivers which encom¬ 
passed hell. Styx was another. It is doubtful whether the Acherusia here 
meant was Avernus, the Lucrine lake, or the Lago di Fusaro, about two miles 
from Avernus and between Cumae and Cape JMiseno. There was another lake of 
the same name in Epirus. 


14 POMPEII. 

lake in breadth reaches to Bai^, being separated from the 
sea by a mound, about a mile long, and wide enough for a 
broad carriage-road, said to have been made by Hercules as 
he was driving Geryon’s oxen. Being much exposed to the 
surf, so as not to be easily traversed on foot, Agrippa raised 
and completed it. The lake admits light ships,* is useless 
as a naval station, but atfords an inexhaustible supply of 
oysters. Here, according to some, was the lake Acherusia, 
but Artemidorus makes it the same with Avernus. Next to 
Bai« come the shores and city of Dic^archia, formerly a 
port of the Cumaeans, placed on a hill. During the invasion 
of Hannibal, the Komans colonized it, and called it Puteoli, 
from {j>utei) the wells; or, as others say, they so named the 
whole district, as far as Baiae and the Cumaean territory, 
from the stench (pwior) of its waters, because it is full of 
sulphur and fire and hot springs. Some think that this is 
the reason why the country about Cumae is called Phlegra, and 
that the thunder-riven wounds of the fallen giants pour out 
tliese streams of fire and water. Immediately over it is 
Vulcan’s assembly-room (Hephaesti Agora, now the Solfatara), 
a level space surrounded by burning heights, with numerous 
chimney-like spiracles, which rumbl^ loudly ; and the bottom 
is full of ductile sulphur. Next to Dicaearchia, is Neapolis ; 
next to Neapolis, Herculaneum, standing on a promontory 
remarkably open to the south-west wind [Libs), which makes 
it unusally healthy. This city, and its next neighbour, 
Pompeii, on the river Sarnus, were originally held by the 
Osci, then by the Tyrrhenians and Pelasgians, then by the 
Samnites, who in their turn were expelled by the Komans. 
Pompeii is the port of Nola, Nuceria, and Acerrm, being 
situated on the river Sarnus, which is suited for the expor¬ 
tation and importation of cargoes. Above these places rises 
Vesuvius, well cultivated and inhabited all round, except its 
top, which is for the most part level, and entirely barren, 
ashy to the view, displaying cavernous hollows in roeks, 
which look as if they had been eaten by the fire, so that we 

* Strabo has before said that Agrippa cut through this mound, and thus 
established a communication between Avernus and the sea. What he says 
here is entirely contiary to the later author, Dion Cassius, who asserts that in 
the hands of Agrippa Avernus became an excellent port. This whole passage 
is in many parts very obscure, and may be suspected to be corrupt. 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 15 

may suppose this spot to have been a volcano formerly, with 
burning craters, now extinguished for want of fuel.”* 

It will occur at once to the reader, that this description is 
totally inapplicable to Vesuvius as it now exists. The 
general form of the mountain is too well known to need 
description, and certainly its elevated cone can by no stretch 
of words be characterised as a level top. It seems probable, 
from various considerations, that this cone is of compara¬ 
tively recent origin. It stands within a circular volcanic 
ridge, called Somma, broken away to the south, where there 
is still a projection, called the Pedainentina, apparently 
marking the continuation of Somma. The most experienced 
observers seem agreed that this ridge is the remains of an 
ancient volcano, much larger than the existing one, and was 
once surmounted by a cone like that of iEtna, which, being 
subject to constant degradation, and requiring constant 
supplies of fresh materials to maintain its height, sunk down 
into the earth, in the long period of inactivity which we 
know to have occurred antecedent to the Christian era. 
Parallel instances may be found in the lakes of Avernus and 
Agnano, which are evidently the sites of ancient volcanic 
cones which have fallen in, not craters of eruption. The 
reawakened fires of Vesuvius soon blew out the mass of 
materials which choked their former vent, and have formed 
around that vent a second cone, concentric with and similar 
to its predecessor, but of smaller dimensions. Instances 
exactly similar to this also occur. We may mention Barren 
Island, in the Bay of Bengal, where an active volcano rises 
out of the sea, in the centre of what is evidently a sunken 
cone. The cone of the Peak of Teneriife also rises in 
the middle of a circular enclosure, like Somma, and a 
process analogous to the formation of the cone of Vesuvius 
may now be frequently observed going on within the crater 
of that mountain, in w^hich, during its periods of activity, 
a minor mountain is continually rising, f Finally, some 
volcanic mountains are known to have fallen in or to 
have been dispersed, as Papandayang, in the island of Java, 

* Strabo, lib. v. c. 4., § 5—8. Such parts of the original as do not bear on 
our subject have been omitted. 

t Campi Phlegraei, pi. 2, where there is a minute representation of the 
cnanges thus produced in the form of the mountain. 


POMPEII. 


16 

which, in the year 1772, was reduced in height from 9000 to 
about 5000 feet. So also, in the province of Quito, a great 
part of the crater and summit of Carguirazo fell in drndng an 
earthquake in 1698.* 

Supposing, therefore, that the present cone is based upon 
the ruins of a larger mountain, it probably did not exist when 
Strabo wrote the above description, but was thrown up in 
the first-recorded eruption, in the year 79, or at some later 
period. This will agree with the negative testimony of 
other authors, who make no mention of it, or speak cursorily 
of it; not as we might expect them to mention so prominent 
a feature as it now is in the much admired scenery of Baiae 
and Naples. In Virgil the name occurs only once; and 
then it is introduced to commend the fertility of the soil. 
The great battle between the Komans and the Latins, in 
B.c. 340, in which Decius devoted himself to death, was fought 
at Vesuvius-t It was on Vesuvius that Spartacus encamped, 
with his army of insurgent slaves and gladiators. “ The 
Romans besieged them in their fort, situate upon a hill that 
had a very steep and narrow ascent to it, and kept the passage 
up to them: all the rest of the gi*ound round about it was 
nothing but high rocks hanging over, and upon them great 
store of wild vines. Of these the bondmen cut the strongest 
strips, and made thereof ladders, like to ship-ladders of 
ropes, of such a length and so strong that they reached from 
the top of the hill even to the very bottom : upon those they 
all came safely down, saving one that tarried above to thi*ow 
down their armour after them, who afterwards by the same 
ladder saved himself last of all. The Romans mistrusting no 
such matter, these bondmen compassed the hill round, assailed 
them behind, and put them in such a fear, wdth the sudden 
onset, as they fled every man, and so was their camp taken.”± 
This passage also is totally inconsistent with the present 
state of Vesuvius. Its lofty summit w'ould be ill suited for 
an encampment, nor could the wild vine ever have flourished 
there; but both Plutarch and Strabo will be clear, if we 
suppose that the even summit of Somma, then probably more 
perfect than it now is, was the highest part of the mountain, 
and tliat it was only accessible by a chasm, such as that 

* Lyell, Principles of Geology, ch. xxv. p. 436, 445. 

t Liv. viii. 8. t Noi'th’- Plutarch, Crassus. 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


17 


which gives admission to Avernus. While the Romans were 
guarding this spot, they might reasonably feel confident that 
the enclosed enemy coiild find no other outlet. 

After many centuries of repose, the volcano broke out with 
great violence, and in its first eruption destroyed Herculaneum, 
Pompeii, and Stabise. This calamity is described by an eye¬ 
witness, the younger Pliny, whose narration will form part of 
the next chapter. It is also mentioned more than a century 
later by Dion Cassius. The passage seems to indicate, as 
far as it is intelligible, that the present cone did not exist 
when he wi’ote; and is further curious, as proving that the 
old fables of the Battle of the Gods and Giants, and of the 
inhumation of the latter, were not forgotten even in the third 
century. 

“ During the autumn a great fire broke out in Campania. 
Vesuvius is a mountain on the coast near Naples, which con¬ 
tains inexhaustible fountains of fire; and formerly it was all 
of the same height, and fii’e rose in the middle of it (for the 
only traces of fire were in the middle), but the outer parts 
remain fireless to this day. Hence, these continuing un¬ 
injured, but the centre being dried up and reduced to ashes, 
the encircling crags still retain their ancient height: but the 
burnt part being copsumed, in lapse of time has settled down 
and become hollow, so that to compare small things to great, 
the whole mountain now resembles an amphitheatre. And 
the top is clothed with trees and vines, but the circular cavity 
is abandoned to fire; and by day it sends up smoke and by 
night flame, 6o that one would thi^ all sorts of incense vessels 
were brnming there. This continues always with more or less 
violence, and often, after any considerable subsidence, it casts 
up ashes and stones, impelled by violent blasts of wind, with 
a loud noise and roaring, because its vent-holes are not set 
close together, but are narrow and concealed.* 

“ Such is Vesuvius, and these things take place in it almost 
every year. But all eruptions which have happened since, 
though they may have appeared unusually great to those even 
who have been accustomed to such sights, would be trifling, 
dven if collected into one, when compared to what occurred at 
the time of which we speak. Many huge men surpassing 
human stature, such as the giants are described to ba,ve 
This description is not very clear, but neither is the Greek. 

Ts C 


18 


POMPEII. 


been, appeared wandering in the air and upon -the earth, at 
one time frequenting the mountain, at another the fields and 
cities in its neighbourhood. Afterwards came great droughts 
and violent earthquakes, so that the whole plain boiled and 
bubbled, and the hills leapt, and there were noises under¬ 
ground like thunder, and above ground like roaring, and 
the sea made a noise, and the heavens sounded; and then 
suddenly a mighty crash w'as heard as if the mountains w^ere 
coming together, and first great stones were thrown up to the 
very summits, then mighty fires and immense smoke, so that 
the whole air was overshadow^ed, and the sun entirely hidden, 
as in an eclipse. 

“ Thus day was turned into night, and light into darkness, 
and some thought the giants were rising again (for many 
phantoms of them were seen in the smoke, and a blast, as if 
of trumpets, was heard), while others believed that the earth 
was to return to Chaos, or to be consumed by fire. There¬ 
fore men fled, some from the houses out into the ways, others 
that were without, into their houses; some quitted the land 
for the sea, some the sea for the land, being confounded in 
mind, and thinking every place at a distance safer than where 
they were. Meanwhile, an inexpressible quantity of dust 
was blown out, and filled land, sea, and air, which did much 
other mischief to men, fields, and cattle, and destroyed all 
the birds and fishes, and besides buried two entire cities, 
Herculaneum and Pompeii, while the population was sitting 
in the theatre.* For this dust was so abundant that it 
reached Africa, S}uia, and Egypt, and filled the air above 
Eome, and overclouded the sun; wEich caused much fear 
even there for many days, men neither knowing nor being 
able to conjecture what had happened. But they thought 
that every thing w^as to be thrown into confusion, the sun to 
fall extinguished to the earth, the earth to rise to the sky. 
At the time, however, these ashes did them no harm, but sub¬ 
sequently they produced a pestilential disease.”t 

It does not appear that any lava flowed from Vesuvius; the 

♦ The wording leaves it doubtful which theatre is meant. The theatres 
of both cities have been exploi'ed, and no remains found. The eruption may 
have come on while the people were assembled, bat they were not destroyed in 
the tlieatres. 

t Dion Cassius, lib. Ixvi. 23, 


HISTORY or VESUVIUS. 


19 


ejected matter consisted of rocks, pumice, and ashes, which 
seem, from the operations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, 
to have been partly changed into liquid mud by torrents of 
rain. Being reawakened, the volcano continued in pretty 
constant activity. It is evident from the passage just quoted, 
that from this year until the commencement of the third 
century, when Dion wrote, eruptions of more or less violence 
were continually recurring. Other eruptions are mentioned 
in the fifth and sixth centuries. Procopius, who died about 
the middle of the sixth, speaks of the mountain emitting 
rivers of fire.* He describes it in terms which correspond 
somewhat with a cone and crater; and, like Dion, conveys 
the idea of its being constantly at work. “ Vesuvius is very 
precipitous below, encircled with wood above, terribly wild 
and craggy. In the centre of its summit is a very deep chasm, 
which we may suppose to reach quite to the bottom of the 
mountain, and it is possible to see fire in it, if a man dare 
peep over. Usually, the fire returns upon itself ( i<f> iavr^v 
crrpe^eTai), without molesting those who live in its neigh¬ 
bourhood ; but when the mountain utters a roaring noise, in 
general it emits soon after a vast body of cinders.” He adds, 
that these ashes were often carried a vast distance, even to 
the coast of Africa and Byzantium, in which city so much 
terror was once caused by the phenomenon, that a solemn 
supplication was established in consequence, and continued 
yearly.t 

The first stream of lava, of which we have authentic 
account, broke out in the year 1036, during the seventh erup¬ 
tion from the resuscitation of the volcano.J Another erup¬ 
tion occurred in 1049, another in 1138 or 9; after which 
there was a pause of 168 years, till 1306. From this year, 
to 1631, there was a cessation, except one slight eruption in 
1500. During this long pause, a remarkable event occurred 
in another part of the Phlegragan fields. In little more than 

* Bell. Goth. iv. 35. 

f Procop. Bell. Goth. ii. 4. 

X The six previous eruptions were those of 79, 203, 472, 512, 685, and 
993. That of 472, recorded in the Chronicon of Marcellinus, ad. ann., seems 
to have been a very violent one. It may be inferred, from Procopius’ descrip¬ 
tion of the eruption of 512, that lava was ejected on that occasion:—pcet Se 
Kai pva^ evravQa irvphs iK rrjs aKpwpeias KarareivMV opovs rbi 

TTp^TToda Kal eri Trp6<Tca. — Loc. cit. 


20 


POMPEII. 


twenty-four lioui's, a new hill, called Monte Nuovo, was 
thrown up to the height of 440 feet above the level of the 
sea, its base being nearly a mile and a half in circumference. 
It stands partly on the site of the Lucrine lake, which has 
now dwindled into a shallow j^ooL* 

Bracini descended into the crater of Vesuvius shortly 
before the eruption of 1631. He gives the following account 
of it: “ The crater was five miles in circumference, and about 
6000 paces deep; its sides were covered with brushwood, 
and at the bottom there was a plain, on which cattle grazed. 
In the woody parts boars frecjuently harboui*ed. In the 
midst of the plain, within the crater, was a narrow passage, 
through which, by a winding path, you could descend about 
a mile among rocks and stones till you came to another more 
spacious plain, covered with ashes. In this plain were three 
little pools, placed in a triangular form; one towards the east, 
of hot water, corrosive and bitter beyond measure; another 
towards the west, of water salter than that of the sea; the 
third of hot water that had no particular taste. 

This account, in spite of its minute enumeration of pools 
of water and points of the compass, is not very intelligible, 
and may fairly be presumed not to be very accurate. Judg¬ 
ing from the size which he ascribes to the crater, far larger 
than any which w^e know to have existed in the present cone, 
one would suppose that he meant its boundary to be the 
ridge of Somma, and that the valley between Somma and 
Vesuvius, now called Atrio de’ Cavalli, the hall of horses 
(because it is here that visitors to the summit of the mountain 
leave their horses to wait while they ascend the cone on foot), 
is the plain where cattle grazed. Still this is inconsistent 
with the further descent in the centre of that plain, unless we 
suppose that where the cone how stands there was then a 
chasm; and surely the present cone cannot have grown up 
within the last two centuries unobserved and undescribed. 
We have, therefore, but a choice of difficulties in explaining 
the passage ; and a further one occurs in the great depth 
attributed to the crater, which, according to this statement, 
must have been accessible at a depth far below the level of 
the sea. Still, so far as we can form any opinion on it, the 

* Lyell, Principles of Geology, chap. xix. 

t Campi Phlegraei, page 62, " 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


21 

mountain, after this long pause, appears to have approximated 
considerably to the state in which it afforded a safe refuge to 
Spartacus, as described by Plutarch, and the passage thus 
furnishes a fresh presumption that the modern cone did not 
then exist. We may add Sir W. Hamilton’s authority to the 
reasons already given, for supposing Somma to be the ancient 
Vesuvius. “ I have seen ancient lavas in the plain on the 
other side of Somma, which could never have come from the 
present Vesuvius.”* 

brief period of repose followed the eruption of 1631, 
but it lasted only till 1666 ; from which time to the present 
there has been a series of eruptions, at intervals rarely ex¬ 
ceeding ten years, generally recurring much more frequently. 
Those of 1776 and 1777 are more than commonly celebrated, 
from having been described at large by an eye-witness, Sir 
William Hamilton, in his splendid work, entitled ‘ Campi 
PhlegraBi.’ The eruption of 1779 was also described by him, 
and is remarkable for the beauty and grandeur of its pheno¬ 
mena. During the whole month of July the volcano gave 
the usual warnings of an approaching paroxysm, by internal 
rumbling noises, and frequent jets of smoke and red-hot 
stones. On August the 5th it was in a state of violent agita¬ 
tion : white and sulphureous smoke issued continually from 
the crater, and lay piled up cloud upon cloud, resembling 
bales of the whitest cotton, until a mass of them was accu¬ 
mulated above the summit, four times the height and size of 
the mountain itself. In the midst of this, stones and ashes 
were continually shot up to a height of 2000 feet or upwards. 
At this time a quantity of lava was heaved up high enough 
to clear the mouth of the crater, and took its passage down 
the side opposite to Somma. 

On Friday and Saturday, the 6th and 7th of August, the 
mountain was less violently disturbed, but at twelve o’clock 
on the night of the latter day its fermentation increased 
greatly. “I was watching its motions from the Mole of 
Naples, which has a full view of the volcano, and had been 
witness to several picturesque effects produced by the re¬ 
flection of the deep red fire which issued from the crater of 
Vesuvius, and mounted up in the midst of the huge clouds, 


Campi Phlegrsei, page 63. 


22 


POMPEII. 


wlien a summer storm, called here a Tropea, came on sud^ 
denly, and blended its heavy watery clouds with the sulphu¬ 
reous and mineral ones, which were already like so many 
other mountains piled over the summit of the volcano. At 
this moment a fountain of fire was shot up to an incredible 
height, casting so bright a light that the smallest objects 
could be clearly distinguished at any place within six miles 
or more of Vesuvius. The black stormy clouds passing over, 
and at times covering the whole or a part of the bright column 
of fire, at other times clearing away and giving a full view 
of it, with the various tints produced by its reverberated 
light on the white clouds above, in contrast with the pale 
flashes of forked lightning that attended the Tropea, formed 
such a scene as no power of art can ever express.” One of 
the king of Sicily’s game-keepers, who was out near Ottaiano 
in this storm, was surprised to find the drops of rain scald 
his hands and face, a phenomenon occasioned, probably, by 
the clouds having acquired a great degree of heat in passing 
by the above-mentioned column of fire. 

On Sunday, Vesuvius was quiet till towards six o’clock in 
the evening, when the smoke began to gather over its crater, 
and the usual jets of stones and ashes commenced and con¬ 
tinued to increase. “ At about nine o’clock, there was a loud 
report which shook the houses at Portici and its neighbour¬ 
hood, to such a degree as to alarm the inhabitants and drive 
them out into the streets; and, as I have since seen, many 
windows were broken, and walls cracked by the concussion 
of the air from that explosion, though faintly heard at Naples. 
In an instant, a fountain of liquid transparent fire began to 
rise, and gradually increasing, arrived at so amazing a height 
as to strike every one who beheld it with the most awful 
astonishment. I shall scarcely be credited, when I assert 
that, to the best of my judgment, the height of this stupen¬ 
dous column of fire could not be less than three times that of 
Vesuvius itself, which rises 3700 feet perpendicular above 
the level of the sea. 

“ PujBfs of smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, 
succeeded one another hastily, and accompanied the red, trans¬ 
parent, and liquid lava, intercepting its splendid brightness 
here and there by patches of the darkest hue. Within these 
puffs of smoke, at the very moment of their emission from 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


23 


the crater, I could perceive a bright, but pale electrical fire, 
briskly playing about in zig-zag lines. The wind was S.W., 
and though gentle, sufficient to carry these detached clouds 
or puffs of smoke out of the column of fire, and a collection 
of them by degrees formed a black and extensive curtain, if I 
may be allowed the expression, behind it; in other parts of 
the sky it was quite clear, and the stars were bright. The 
fiery fountain of so gigantic a size upon the dark ground 
above mentioned made the most glorious contrast imagin¬ 
able, and the blaze of it reflecting strongly upon the surface 
of the sea, which was at that time perfectly smooth, added 
greatly to this sublime view. The liquid lava, mixed wuth 
stones and scoriae, after having mounted, I verily believe, at 
the least 10,000 feet, was partly directed by the wind towards 
Ottaiano, and partly falling almost perpendicularly, still red- 
hot and liquid on Vesuvius, covered its whole cone, part of 
the mountain of Somma, and the valley between them. The 
falling matter being nearly as vivid and inflamed as tliat 
which was continually issuing fresh from the crater, formed 
with it one complete body of fire, which could not be less 
than two miles and a half in breadth, and of the extra¬ 
ordinary height abovementioned, casting a heat to the dis¬ 
tance of at least six miles around it. The brushwood on the 
mountain of Sonuna was soon in a blaze, which flame being 
of a different tint from the deep red of the matter thrown 
out by the volcano, and from the silvery blue of the electrical 
fire, still added to the contrast of this most extraordinary 
scene.” 

Another remarkable eruption occurred in 1793, while the 
late Dr. Clarke was at Naples, and gave him the opportunity 
of making minute and repeated observations on the mountain. 
No pen is better calculated to explain these great operations 
of nature, and to describe their awful magnificence. We 
shall extract a passage of some length from his journal, illus¬ 
trative chiefly of those phenomena which we have not yet 
noticed. 

“ It was in the month of February that I went with a 
party to the source of the lava for the first time, to ascertain 
the real state in which the lava proceeded from the volcano 
that created it. I found the crater in a very active state, 
throwing out volleys of immense stones transparent with 


POIilPEII. 


24 

vitrification, and such showers of ashes involved in thick sul¬ 
phureous clouds as rendered any approach to it extremely 
dangerous. We ascended as near as possible, and then cross¬ 
ing over to the lava, attempted to coast it up to its source. 
This we soon found was impossible, for an unfortunate wind 
blew all the smoke of the lava hot upon us, attended at the 
same time with such a thick mist of minute ashes from the 
crater, and such fumes of sulphur, that we were in danger of 
being suffocated. In this perplexity I had recourse to an 
expedient recommended by Sir W. Hamilton, and proposed 
immediately crossing the current of liquid lava to gain the 
windward side, but felt some fears, owing to the very liquid 
appearance the lava there had so near its source. All my 
companions were against the scheme; and while we stood 
deliberating, immense fragments of stone and huge volcanic 
bombs, that had been cast out by the crater, but which the 
smoke liad prevented us fi-om observing, fell thick about us, 
and rolled by us with a velocity that would have crushed any 
of us had we been in their way. I found we must either 
leave our present spot or expect instant death ; therefore 
covering my face with my hat I rushed upon the lava, and 
crossed safely over to the other side, having my boots only a 
little bm*nt, and my hands scorched. Having once more 
rallied my forces, I proceeded on, and in about half an hour 
gained the chasm through which the lava had opened itself a 
passage out of the mountain. To describe this sight is 
utterly beyond all human ability. My companions shared in 
the astonishment it produced; and the sensations they felt, 
in concert with me, were such as can be obliterated only with 
our lives. All I had seen of volcanic phenomena before did 
not lead me to expect such a spectacle as I then beheld. I 
had seen the vast rivers of lava that descended into the plains 
below, and carried ruin and devastation with them; but they 
resembled a vast heap of cinders, or the scoriaB of an iron 
foundry, rolling slowly along, and falling with a rattling 
noise over one another. Here a vast arched chasm presented 
itself in the side of the mountain, from which rushed mth 
the velocity of a flood the clear vivid torrent of lava, in per¬ 
fect fusion, and totally unconnected with any other matter that 
was not in a state of complete solution, unattended with any 
scoriae on its surface, or gross materials of an insolvent 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


25 


nature, but flowing with the translucency of honey, in regular 
channels cut finer than art can imitate, and glowing with 
all the splendour of the sun. 

“ The eruption from the crater increased with so much 
violence that we proceeded to make our experiments and 
observations as speedily as possible. A little above the 
source of the lava I found a chimney of about fom* feet in 
height, from which proceeded smoke, and sometimes stones. 
I approached and gathered some pure sulphur, which had 
formed itself upon the edges of the mouth of this chimney, 
the smell of which was so powerful that I was forced to hold 
my breath all the while I remained there. I* seized an 
opportunity to gain a momentary view down this aperture, 
and perceived nothing but the glare of the red-hot lava that 
jjassed beneath it. We then returned to examine the lava at 
its source. Sir W. Hamilton had conceived that no stones 
thrown upon a current of lava would make any impression. 
We were soon convinced of the contrary. Light bodies of 
five, ten, and fifteen pounds w^eight, made little or no impres¬ 
sion even at the source; but bodies of sixty, seventy, and 
eighty pounds wer^ seen to form a kind of bed on the 
siuface of the lava, and float away with it. A stone of three 
hundredweight, that had been thrown out by the crater, lay 
near the source of the current of lava. I raised it upon one 
end, and then let it fall in upon the liquid lava, when it 
gradually sunk beneath the surface and disappeared. If I 
wished to describe the manner in which it acted upon the 
lava, I should say it was like a loaf of bread thrown into a 
bowl of very thick honey, which gradually involves itself in 
the heavy liquid which surrounds it, and then slowly sinks 
to the bottom. The lava itself had a glutinous appearance, 
and although it resisted the most violent impression, seemed 
as if it might easily be stirred with a common walking- 
stick. A small distance from its source, as it flows on, it 
acquires a darker tint upon its surface, is less easily acted 
upon, and as the stream gets wider, the surface having lost 
its state of perfect solution, grows harder and harder, and 
cracks into innumerable fragments of very porous matter, to 
which they give the'name of scoriae, and the appearance of 
which has led many to suppose that it proceeded thus from 
the mountain; itself being composed of materials less soluble 


26 


POMPEII. 


than the rest of the lava, lighter, and of course liable tr> float 
continually on the surface. There is, however, no truth in 
this. All lava at its first exit from its native volcano flows 
out in a liquid state, and all equally in fusion. The appear¬ 
ance of the scoriae is to be attributed only to the action of the 
external air, and not to any difference of the materials which 
compose it, since any lava whatever, separated from its 
channel and exposed to the action of the external air, imme¬ 
diately cracks, becomes porous, and alters its form. As we 
proceeded downwai'd this became more and more evident, 
and the same lava, which at its original source flowed in per¬ 
fect solution, undivided, and free from encumbrances of any 
kind, a little farther down had its surface loaded with 
scoriaB in such a manner, that upon its arrival at the bottom 
of the mountain the whole current resembled nothing so 
much as a heap of unconnected cinders from an ii’on- 
foundi’y. 

“ Aug. 22, 1793.—There was to-day a most singular ap¬ 
pearance in the mountain. On opening the shutters to view 
it, I perceived the crater to be in great agitation, puff after 
puff impelling each other with the greatest violence. I could 
perceive thousands of stones and scoriaB thrown into the air, 
and falling in all directions. The clouds from the crater 
were as white as the purest snow; on a sudden, as I was 
looking at these, a column of smoke rushed impetuously out 
of another mouth behind the crater, as black as the deepest 
ink; and rising in curling volumes to a vast magnitude, 
formed a pillar perfectly unconnected with the smoke from 
the crater, and presented a striking contrast by opposing its 
jet black to the snowy whiteness of the other. These ap¬ 
pearances continued at intervals the whole day. Sometimes 
the two columns of different colours rose together, as if 
emulating each other, and striving which should rise the 
highest or display the greatest magnitude, but never mixing 
or interfering with each other. . . . 

“ Aug. 30.—The lava, which was last night so great, this 
evening suddenly stopped; hardly a trace of it was visible. 
But the crater displayed such girandoles of fire, such beauti¬ 
ful columns of light red flame, as I think I never saw before. 
Millions of red-hot stones were shot into the air, full half the 
height of the cone itself, and then bending, fell all round in a 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


27 


fine arch. As soon as I got home I fixed the telescope. 
Sometimes, in the middle of the clear flame, another and 
another still more bright and glorious displayed itself, break¬ 
ing on the eye like the full sun, so that the interior was 
always the most luminous. The interior and bright attend¬ 
ants upon the principal column seemed to be lava in perfect 
fusion, which boiled and bubbled up above the crater’s edge ; 
and sometimes falling over it, I could perceive splash upon 
the cone, and take its course gently down the side of the 
mountain. Sometimes, and more usually, it fell again into 
the crater. I write this with the burning mountain now 
before my eyes. All the top of the cone is covered with red- 
hot stones and lava. The flame of the crater continues 
without intervals of darkness, as usual. It is always in 
flame, or rather the clouds of smoke, tinged with the boiling 
matter within, are like burnished gold, and as bright as fire. 

“ Sept. 6.—Vesuvius continues to throw most superbly; 
the lava flows again. At sunset he showed that Tyrian hue 
which he assumes sometimes, and which has a glow l)eyond 
description. I had undressed myself and was prepared to 
get into bed, when a violent shock from the mountain agi¬ 
tated the door of my room, so as to startle me not a little. 
I went into my sitting-room, and, upon opening the window' 
tow'ard the mountain, I perceived all the top of the cone 
covered with red-hot matter. At the same time such a roar¬ 
ing w'as heard as made me expect something more than 
common. In an instant a column of lucid fire shot up into 
the air, and after ascending above haK the height of the cone 
itself, fell in a glorious parabolic girandole, and covered near 
half the cone with fire. This was followed, after an interval 
of about thirty seconds, by a shock which agitated the doors 
and windows, and indeed the whole house in a most violent 
manner. Immediately after this shock the sound of the ex¬ 
plosion reached us louder than the greatest cannon, or the 
most terrible thunder, attended with a noise like the 
trampling of horses’ feet, which, of course, was nothing 
more than the noise occasioned by the falling of so many 
enormous stones among the hard lava. The shock of this 
explosion was so violent that it distm’bed many things I had 
left on my table, such as brushes for painting, &c. I dressed 
myself again, and remained in the balcony above an hour, 


28 


POMPEII, 


during which time I had the pleasure of beholding VesuviU' 
in his terrific grandeur, and more awfully sublime than I had 
ever before seen him. The consul, Sir James Douglas, has 
just been observing to me that he never saw the mountain so 
agitated since the great eruption of 1779.” * 

Between the end of the 18th century and the year 1822, 
the crater of Vesuvius had been gradually filled by the boil¬ 
ing up of lava and the crumbling down of the upper part of 
the cone. In place, therefore, of a regular cavity, was a 
rough and rocky surface covered with blocks of lava and 
scoriae. But this state of things was totally changed by the 
eruption of October, 1822, when the whole accumulated mass 
within the crater, together with a large part of the cone itself, 
was blown out, so as to leave an irregular gulf about three 
miles in circumference, when measured along the winding 
edge of its margin, but somewhat less than three-quarters of 
a mile in its largest diameter. The depth has been variously 
estimated, from 2000 feet to less than half that quantity. 
More than eight hundred feet of the cone was carried away 
during the eruption, so that the mountain was reduced in 
height from about 4200 to 3400 feet, f 

Vesuvius now consists of a double mountain, upon an ex¬ 
tended base, from thirty to forty miles in circumference. 
Upon this stands the long ridge of Somma, so often men¬ 
tioned, bending in the form of a crescent, with its convex 
side presented to the N.E., its points to the S.W. The 
western horn is separated by a deep valley from a lower 
mountain, called Cantaroni, which, inclining to the south, 
meets the lower projection, or terrace, called La Pedamen- 
tina. This is again separated by an excavated valley from 
the eastern horn of Somma. Between Somma and Vesuvius 
is the deep valley, called Atrio de’ Cavalli, the Hall of 
Horses, and in the centre of the amphitheatre rises the cone 

* Lite of E. D. Clarke. 

t There have been several eruptions since that of 1822. The last, and per¬ 
haps the most remarkable, of these occurred towards the end of 1861. It was 
preceded by shocks of earthquake, which overthrew or damaged several houses 
in Tori-e del Greco. The editor visited that place a month or two afterwards, 
and found some of the wells there still boiling ; while at a little distance from 
the shore a sort of fountain was thi own up in the sea by volcanic agency. On 
this occasion ashes were ejected fjom several small cones situated less than 
half a mile from the town. 


HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 


29 


of Vesuvius its.elf, dark, sterile, and desolate; to the eye, a 
mass of loose scoria3 and ashes, without order or coherence. 
This however on inspection is proved not to be the case. It 
consists of alternate layers of sand or ashes, scoriae, and lava,' 
inclining outwards at an angle of from 45° to 30° with the 
axis of the cone. The strata of course are partial and irregu¬ 
lar in extent and thickness, as circumstances have determined 
the fall of the ejected matter or the flow of the lava ; but the 
irregularities of these numerous beds compensate for each 
other, and the general effect, on viewing the interior of the 
crater, is one of considerable order and regularity. Even 
the loose substances, falling together half melted, and con¬ 
tinually acted on by the hot vapours which steam upwards in 
all parts of the cone, soon acquire a considerable degree of 
coherence ; and the solidity of the whole is mainly assisted 
by dykes of solid lava, injected into the cracks of the moun¬ 
tain when the molten liquid has boiled up to its summit. 


CHAPTEE II. 

HISTORICAL NOTICE OF POMPEII. 

Pompeii is situated in that district of Italy named by the 
ancients Campania, comprised between the mountains of 
Samnium and the Tyn-henian sea, and bounded on the north 
by the river Liris, and on the south by the Silarus. The 
line of coast included between these points is broken by two 
far-projecting capes, Misenum and the promontory of Mi¬ 
nerva, between which lies a deep recess, called from its shape 
Crater, the Cup, or the Gulf of Cumae, and known in modern 
times as the Bay of Naples. At the bottom of this bay stood 
Pompeii, about thirteen miles south-east of Naples, and five 
from Vesuvius. Of its history very little is known. It is 
related to have been founded by Hercules, as well as its 
neighbour and fellow-victim, Herculaneum. Solinus says 
that the name of Pompeii is derived from Pompe, in allusion 
to the pomp with which Hercules celebrated his victories, 
while awaiting his fleet at the mouth of the river Sarnus. 
Being furnished with so respectable and credible an origin, 


30 


POMPEII. 


it would be waste of time to inquire any fui’tber. An almost 
impenetrable darkness bangs over these remote ages; and 
when men are driven to take refuge in mythology, it is plain 



Bay of iSaples. 


that they can find little satisfaction in history. Strabo, how¬ 
ever, asserts that these towns were founded by Pelasgians 
and Tyrrhenians*. The first inhabitants that we can trace 
on this coast are the Osci, who ai^pear to have been the same 
as the Ausones, and of Pelasgian extraction. At an early, 
but still an unknown period, a colony from Chalcis in Eubcea 
founded the town of Cumfe. Parthenope, afterwards called 
Neapolis, now Naples, was an offset from thence, or from a 
kindred colony of Eretrians. Pompeii and Herculaneum 
also fell into their power, but their establishments seem to 
have extended no further in this direction. 

Campania, where, in Pliny’s words, all imaginable delights 
were in constant rivalry, has always been celebrated as tempt- 
* Lib. V. c. 4, § 8. 







HISTOEICAL NOTICE. 


31 


ing by its riches the arms of strangers, and punishing the 
cupidity of its conquerors by enervating, and subjecting them 
in their turn to some sterner enemy; in consequence, it has 
experienced a rapid succession of masters. 

According to Strabo, in the passage already quoted, Pom¬ 
peii was first occupied by the Oscans, then by the Tyrrhe¬ 
nians, or Etruscans, and next by the Samnites, who, about the 
year b.c. 440, or a little after, conquered Campania ; and the 
branch of that nation settled there subsequently assumed the 
name of Campanians. The cities of Campania appear to have 
been independent. There is no trace of a central govern¬ 
ment. Capua was no doubt the chief city, but we hear only 
of local governments of a republican form, called in Oscan, 
meddix, in which the chief magistrate was entitled meddix 
tuticus. 

The first direct notice of Pompeii which we find in history 
is in B.c. 310, when, during the second Samnite war, a Roman 
fleet under P. Cornelius entered the mouth of the Sarnus. 
The crews proceeded up that river as far as Nuceria, and 
ravaged the country around, but were ultimately driven back 
with great loss.* How long Pompeii had existed before that 
date it is impossible to say; but, as Overbeck remarks,f the 
remains of some parts of its walls, as well as of the Greek 
temple in the Forum Triangulare, commonly called the Tem¬ 
ple of Hercules, seem to denote a period coeval with that 
of Passtum, or the seventh century b.c. 

When the Romans reduced the Samnites, towards the end 
of the thii-d century b.c., the cities of the districts occupied 
by that people, and amongst them those of Campania, appear 
to have received a municipal constitution. Under this new 
state of things, Pompeii, as may be inferred from inscriptions, 
&c., seems to have retained many of its ancient Oscan cus¬ 
toms, as well as the Oscan tongue. It was an independent 
municipium, with a senate and assembly of the people, and 
magistrates chosen by them, among whom the principal were 
Quatuorviri. Pompeii no doubt participated in the Campa¬ 
nian revolt, B.o. 216, in the second Punic war, and joined 
Hannibal, who proposed to make Capua the capital of Italy. 
His long stay in this delightful climate proved fatal to the 
discipline even of his victorious troops, and when he was 
* Liv. ix. 38. t Pompeji, B. i. S. 16. 


POMPEII. 


32 

compelled to abandon Italy the incensed Eomans took a ter¬ 
rible revenge on their revolted subjects. Capua, we know, 
was severely punished; but neither on this occasion, nor on 
their first occupation of the country, is mention made of 
Herculaneum or Pompeii. 

In the Social, or Marsic war, which broke out in b.c. 91, 
the Campanian cities raised the standard of revolt. The 
Pompeians appear to have played a principal part on this 
occasion, as Appian makes particular mention of them in 
enumerating the nations which joined the insurrection.* In 
the second year of the war, L. Sulla having defeated the Sam- 
nites under Cluentius, and driven them into Nola, laid siege 
to Pompeii.t We have no particulars of this siege, but 
many refer to it the dilapidated state in which the walls of 
Pompeii have been discovered, whilst others attribute those 
appearances to the earthquake which preceded the eruption 
by which the city was destroyed. At the end of the war 
Capua was severely punished, its inhabitants being dis¬ 
possessed, and a colony sent from Rome to cultivate their 
fertile territory. Stabife, a town within four or five miles of 
Pompeii, was entirely destroyed, and scattered villas built 
where it formerly stood. We know not by what means Pom¬ 
peii not only escaped this fate, but even obtained the Roman 
franchise, which was probably granted by virtue of a capitu¬ 
lation. A military colony was however established there by 
Sulla, which, from the patron goddess of the city, and from 
Sulla, who had subdued it, obtained the names of Colonia 
Veneria Cornelia. J Subsequently we find this colony under 
the government of the dictator’s nephew, P. Sylla, who, in 
B.c. 64, was accused of exciting troubles in it, and urging it 
to revolt from Rome. On this occasion Sylla was defended 
by Cicero, and ultimately acquitted .§ 

After the establishment of Sulla’s colony, Pompeii, like 
BaicT, Puteoli, and other towns in that delightful neighbour¬ 
hood, became a favourite resort of the wealthy Romans. 
Among these was Cicero, who mentions his villa at Pompeii. || 
After this period, the Oscan tongue, as well as the Oscan 
magistrates, were supplanted by Roman. Under the empii*e 

* App. B.G., i. 39. t Veil. Pat. ii. 10, App. B.C. i. 50. 

t Mommsen, Inscrr. B.N.f No. 2201. § Pro. Sulla, 

II Gic. Epp. ad div,, vii. 1, 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 


33 


we find two principal classes of citizens: decurions, who 
answered to the Roman senate, and Augustales, or priests of 
Augustus, whose rank was somewhat equivalent to that of the 
Roman equites. There was besides a popular body, who, in 
their comitia, or assemblies, chose their own magistrates, 
regulated their own worship and priesthood, made munici¬ 
pal laws, and conferred rewards and distinctions. The heads 
of the government and supreme administrators of the law 
were the Decemviri juri dicundo, who presided at the assem¬ 
blies of the Decurions, or senate, and resembled, in their way, 
the Roman consuls. Below these were .^diles, Quinquennales, 
or censors, a Queestor, and other inferior magistrates. The 
imperial power seems sometimes to have been represented by 
officers called Curatores, whose title is occasionally met with 
in inscriptions. We should remember that there was always 
a considerable Greek population in the city. 

From this time forward Pompeii shared the common for¬ 
tune of the empire, and there is little remarkable to be 
related of it. Tacitus calls it a “ populous ” town of Campa¬ 
nia but there is no means of ascertaining the number of 
its population, which has been variously estimated at from 
20,000 to 40,000. Augustus seqt thither some Roman colo¬ 
nists in B.c. 7, who established themselves in the northern 
suburb outside the gate of Herculaneum. This settlement 
obtained the name of Pagus Augustus Felix. We learn from 
an anecdote in Suetonius that the emperor Claudius had a 
villa at Pompeii, whose little son was choked here by throw¬ 
ing up a pear and catching it in his mouth.In the year 
59, Pompeii was made to feel its dependence upon Rome. 
The senator, Livineius Regulus, who, after having been 
banished from the Roman capital, appears to have fixed his 
abode at Pompeii, gave in the amphitheatre of that place 
some grand gladiatorial shows, which were attended by the 
inhabitants of the neighbouring towns. During this exhibi¬ 
tion, a quarrel, which originated in certain provincial sai- 
casms, arose between the Pompeians and the people of 
Nuceria. The dispute terminated in a battle,^ and the 
Nncerians were worsted. Not prospering in the voie du fait, 
they went to law, and carried their complaint before the 

* “Celebre Campaniae oppidum.” Ann. xxv, 2. f Suet. Claud. 27. 

D 


34 


POMPEII. 


Emperor Nero, wlio finally adjudged tliat, among other 
things, the Pompeians should be susj^ended frorn all theatri¬ 
cal amusements for ten years a sentence which, according 
to modern ideas, we can hardly believe to be serious, but 
which certainly was both meant and felt to be so, and which 
bears strong testimony to the importance attached by the 
Eomans to all public amusements. 

Upon the external walls of a house in the street of Mer¬ 
cury, as it is called, near the city wall, was found a carica¬ 
ture or rude dra\ving scratched on the plaster with a sharp- 
pointed instrument by some patriotic Pompeian, in comme¬ 
moration of this squabble and the victory of his townspeople. 
We give a fac-simile of it. It seems to be a joint production; 
for the armed figure descending the steps is evidently the 
work of a more skilful hand than that which drew the other 
two figures, if they deserve that term. The figure on the 
right seems to be meant for a gladiator, cased in armour, 
descending the steps of the amphitheatre, bearing in his left 
hand a shield, and in his right a palm-branch, the token of 
victory. It is observable that his helmet has a complete 
visor, and apparently resembles the helmet of the middle 
ages much more than the usual form of the Eoman helmet, 
pile abortive figm’es on the left probably represent one of 
the victors on some elevated spot, dragging a prisoner, with 
his arms bound, after him up the ladder which leads to it. It 
might not have been very easy to decipher all this ; but like 
the sign-painter who found it necessary to write under his 
production, “ This is a bear!” the artist or artists have 
thought it prudent to subjoin the following inscription, 
which, in point of Latin, is much on a par with the draw¬ 
ing 

Cainpani victoria una cum J^ucerinis pei istis; 

which may be interpreted, “ Campanians, you perished in 
victory together with the Nucerians.” 

Four years after this occuiTence, an earthquake, which 
took place on the 5th February, a.d. 63, and has been 
recorded by Seneca, threw down a great part of Pompeii, and 
considerably injured Herculaneum and other towns. “A 


* Tac. Ann. xiv. 17, 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 


35 


flock,” he says, “ of six hundred sheep were swallowed up, 
statues were split, and many persons lost their reason.”* 



Fac-simile of a rude drawing on the walls of a house in the street of Mercury. 





















36 


POMPEII. 


Nero was singing at Naples; the building, unfortunately, 
fell immediately after the emperor had left it. Vestiges of 
the injury done by these shocks may even now be seen in the 
houses which have been excavated at Pompeii, where the 
mosaic floors are often much out of their level, twisted and 
broken, and show the repairs which had been made by the 
inhabitants themselves. 

These alarms, the usual presages of a near eruption, were 
from time to time repeated'until the 23rd of August, a.d. 79, 
the day on which, after a cessation of ages, the first recorded 
volcanic paroxysm of Vesuvius occurred. 

By an unusual good fortune we are in possession of a faith¬ 
ful narrative, furnished by an eye-witness of the catastrophe 
which overwhelmed Pompeii, and provided a subject for this 
volume. It is contained in two letters of Pliny the younger 
to Tacitus, which record the death of his uncle, who fell a 
victim to his inquiring spirit and humanity. 

“ Your request that I would send you an account of my 
uncle’s death, in order to transmit a more exact relation of 
it to posterity, deserves my acknowledgments ; for, if this ac¬ 
cident shall be celebrated by your pen, the glory of it, I 
am well assured, ^vill be rendered for ever illustrious. And 
notwithstanding he perished by a misfortune, which, as it 
involved at the same time a most beautiful country in ruins, 
and destroyed so many populous cities, seems to promise him 
an everlasting remembrance, notwithstanding he has himself 
composed many and lasting works ; yet I am persuaded the 
mentioning of him in your immortal works vdll greatly con¬ 
tribute to eternize his name. Happy I esteem those to be 
w^hom Providence has distinguished with the abilities either 
of doing such actions as are worthy of being related, or of 
relating them in a manner worthy of being read; but doubly 
happy are they who are blessed with both these uncommon 
talents—in the number of which my uncle, as his own writ¬ 
ings and your history will evidently prove, may justly be 
ranked. It is with e^.reme willingness, therefore, I execute 
your commands ; and should indeed have claimed the task 
if you had not enjoined it. He was at that time with the 
fleet under his command at Misenum. On the 24th of 
August, about one in the afternoon, my mother desired him 
to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size and 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 


37 


sliape. He had just returned from taking the benefit of the 
sun,^ and after bathing himself in cold water, and taking a 
slight repast, was retired to his study. He immediately 
arose and went out upon an eminence, from whence he might 
more distinctly view this very uncommon appearance. It 
was not at that distance discernible from what mountain this 
cloud issued, but it was found afterwards to ascend ^ from 
Mount Vesuvius.! 1 cannot give a more exact description 
of its figure than by resembling -it to that of a pine-tree, lor 
it shot up a great height in the form of a trunk, which ex¬ 
tended itself at the top into a sort of branches, occasioned, I 
imagine, either by a sudden gust of air that impelled it, the 
force of which decreased as it advanced upwards, or the cloud 
itself, being pressed back again by its own weight, expanded 
in this manner ; it appeared sometimes bright and sometimes 
dark and spotted, as it was more or less impregnated with 
earth and cinders. This extraordinary ])henomenon excited 
my uncle’s philosophical curiosity to take a nearer view of it. 
He ordered a light vessel to be got ready, and gave me the 
liberty, if I thought proper, to attend him. I rather chose 
to continue my studies ; for, as it happened, he had given 
me an employment of that kind. As he was coming out of 
the house, he received a note from Eectina, the wife of 
Bassus, who was in the utmost alarm at the imminent danger 
which threatened her ; for her villa being situated at the foot 
of Mount Vesuvius, there was no way to escape but by sea : 
she earnestly entreated him, therefore, to come to her assist¬ 
ance. He accordingly changed his first design, and what he 
began with a philosophical, he pursued with an heroical turn 

* The Romans used to lie or walk naked in the sun, after anointing their 
bodies with oil, which was esteemed as greatly contributing to health, and 
therefore daily practised by them. 

t About six miles distant from Naples. Martial has a pretty epigram, in 
which he gives us a view of Vesuvius as it appeared before this terrible con¬ 
flagration broke out:— 

“ Here verdant vines o’erspread Vesuvius’ sides; 

The generous grape here pour’d her purple tides. 

This Bacchus lov’d beyond his native scene; 

Here dancing satyrs joy’d to trip the green. ^ 

Far more than Sparta this in \ enus’ grace; 

And great Alcides once renown’d the place: 

Now "flaming embers spread dire waste around. 

And gods regret that gods can thus confound.” 


POMPEII. 


38 

of miud. He ordered the galleys to put to sea, and went him¬ 
self on board, with an intention of assisting not only Rectina, 
but several others, for the villas stand extremely thick upon 
that beautiful coast. When hastening to the place from 
which others fled with the utmost terror, he steered his 
course direct to the point of danger, and with so much calm¬ 
ness and presence of mind, as to be able to make and dictate 
his observations upon the motion and figure of that dreadful 
scene. He was now so nigh the mountain, that the cinders, 
which grew thicker and hotter the nearer he approached, fell 
into the ships, together with pumice-stones and black pieces 
of burning rock. They were likewise in danger, not only of 
being aground by the sudden retreat of the sea, but also from 
the vast fragments which rolled down from the mountain 
and obstructed all the shore. Here he stopped to consider 
whether he should retm-n back again ; to which the pilot 
advising him, ‘ Fortune,’ said he, ‘ befriends the brave ; carry 
me to Pomponiauus.’ Pomponianus was then at Stabire,* 
separated by a gulf, which the sea, after several insensible 
windings, forms upon the shore. He had already sent his 
baggage on board; for though he was not at that time in 
actual danger, yet being within the view of it, and, indeed, 
extremely near, if it should in the least increase, he was de¬ 
termined to put to sea as soon as the wind should change. 
It was favourable, however, for carrying my uncle to Pom¬ 
ponianus, whom he found in the greatest consternation. He 
embraced him with tenderness, encouraging and exhorting 
liim to keep up his spirits, and the more to dissipate his 
fears, he ordered, with an air of unconcern, the baths to be 
got ready ; when, after having bathed, he sat down to supper 
with great cheerfulness, or at least (what is equally heroic) 
mth all the appearance of it. In the meanwhile, the erup¬ 
tion from Mount Vesuvius flamed out in several places with 
much violence, which the darkness of the night contributed 
to render still more visible and dreadful. But my uncle, in 
order to sooth the apprehensions of his friend, assured him 
it was only the burning of the villages, which the country 
people had abandoned to the flames. After this he retired to 
rest, and it is most certain he was so little discomposed as to 
fall into a deep sleep; for being pretty fat, and breathing 

* Xow called Castellamare, in the Gulf of Naples. 


HISTOmCAL NOTICE. 


39 


hard, those who attended without actually heard him snore. 
The court which led to his apartment being now almost filled 
with stones and ashes, if he had continued there any time 
longer, it would have been impossible for him to have made 
his way out; it was thought proper, therefore, to awaken 
him. He got up, and went to Pomponianus and the rest of 
his company, who were not unconcerned enough to think of 
going to bei They consulted together whether it would be 
most prudent to trust to the houses, which now shook from 
side to side with frequent and violent concussions; or fiy to 
the open fields, where the calcined stones and cinders, though 
light indeed, yet fell in large showers, and threatened de¬ 
struction. In this distress they resolved for the fields, as 
the less dangerous situation of the two; a resolution which, 
while the rest of the company were hurried into it by their 
fears, my uncle embraced upon cool and deliberate considera¬ 
tion. They went out then, having pillows tied upon their 
heads with napkins; and this was their whole defence against 
the storm of stones that fell around them. It was now day 
everywhere else, but there a deeper darkness prevailed than 
in the most obscure night; which, however, was in some 
degree dissipated by torches and other lights of various kinds. 
They thought proper to go down further upon the shore, to 
observe if they might safely j)ut out to sea ; but they found 
the waves still run extremely high and boisterous. There 
my uncle, having drunk a draught or two of cold water, threw 
himself down upon a cloth which was spread for him, when 
immediately the flames, and a strong smell of sulphur, which 
was the forerunner of them, dispersed the rest of the com¬ 
pany, and obliged him to rise. He raised himself up with 
the assistance of two of his servants, and instantly fell down 
dead—suffocated, as I conjecture, by some gross and noxious 
vapour, having always had weak lungs, and being frequently 
subject to a difficulty of breathing. As soon as it was light 
again, which was not till the third day after this melancholy 
accident, his body was found entire, and without any marks 
of violence upon it, exactly in the same posture that he fell, 
and looking more like a man asleep than dead. During all 
this time my mother and I, who were at Misenum * but as 
this has no connexion with yom* history, so your inquiry 

* see this account continued, in the following letter. 


POMPEII. 


40 

went no farther than concerning my uncle's death; with 
that, therefore, I will put an end to my letter. Suffer me 
only to add, that 1 have faithfully related to you what I was 
either an eye-witness of myself, or heard immediately after 
the accident happened, and before there was time to vary the 
truth. You will choose out of this narrative such circum¬ 
stances as shall be most suitable to your purpose ; for there 
is a great difference between what is proper for a letter and a 
history—between writing to a friend and writing for the pub¬ 
lic. Farewell!” * 

“The letter which, in compliance with your request, I 
wrote to you concerning the death of my uncle, has raised, it 
seems, your curiosity to know what terrors and dangers 
attended me while I continued at Misenura; for there, I think, 
the account in my former broke off. 

‘ Though my shocked soul recoils, my tongue shall tell.’f 

“ My uncle having left us, I pursued the studies which 
prevented my going with him, till it was time to bathe. 
After which I went to supper and from thence to bed, where 
my sleep was greatly broken and disturbed. There had been, 
for many days before, some shocks of an earthquake, which the 
less surprised us as they are extremely frequent in Campania ; 
but they were so j:)articularly violent that night, that they not 
only shook everything about us, but seemed indeed to threaten 
total destruction. My mother flew to my chamber, where 
she found me rising, in order to awaken her. We went out 
into a small court belonging to the house, which separated 
the sea from the buildings. As I was at that time but eighteen 
years of age, I know not whether I sliould call my behaviour, 
in this dangerous juncture, courage or rashness; but I took 
up Livy, and amused myself with turning over that author, 
and even making extracts from him, as if all about me had 
been in full security. While we were in this posture, a friend 
of my uncle, who was just come from Spain to pay him a 
visit, joined us ; and observing me sitting by my mother with 
a book in my hand, greatly condemned her calmness, at the 
same time fhat he reproved me for my careless security. 
Nevertheless, I still went on with my author. Though it 

* Pliny’s Lettei's, Melmoth’s translation, vi. 1 6. 

f “ Quanquam animus raeminisse horret, &c.” Virgil, book ii. 12. 


HISTOKICAL NOTICE. 


41 


was now morning, the light was exceedingly faint and lan¬ 
guid ; the buildings all around us tottered, and though we 
stood upon open ground, yet, as the place was narrow and 
confined, there was no remaining there without certain and 
great danger : we therefore resolved to quit the to^vn. The 
people followed us in the utmost consternation ; and, as to a 
mind distracted with terror every suggestion seems more 
prudent than its own, pressed in great crowds about us in our 
way out. Being got at a convenient distance from the houses, 
we stood still, in the midst of a most dangerous and dreadful 
scene. The chariots which we had ordered to be drawn out, 
were so agitated backwards and forwards, though upon the 
most level ground, that iwe could not keep them steady, even 
by supporting them with large stones. The sea seemed to 
roll back upon itself, and to bo driven from its banks by the 
convulsive motion of the earth ; it is certain at least the 
shore was considerably enlarged, and several sea animals were 
left upon it. On the other side a black and dreadful cloud, 
bursting with an igneous serpentine vapour, darted out a 
long train of fire, resembling flashes of lightning, but much 
larger. Upon this our Spanish friend, whom I mentioned 
above, addressed himself to my mother and me with great 
warmth and earnestness: ‘ If your brother and your uncle,’ 
said he, ‘ is safe, he certainly wishes you may be so too; but 
if he perished, it was his desire, no doubt, that you might 
both survive him: why, therefore, do you delay your escape 
a moment ?’ We could never think of our own safety, we 
said, while we were uncertain of his. Hereupon our friend 
left us, and withdrew from the danger with the utmost preci¬ 
pitation. Soon afterwards the cloud seemed to descend, and 
cover the whole ocean ; as indeed it entirely hid the island of 
Capreje* and the promontory of Misenum. My mother strongly 
conjured me to make my escape at any rate, which, as I was 
young, I might easily do: as for herself, she said, her age 
and corpulency rendered all attempts of that sort impossible. 
However she would willingly meet death, if she could have 
the satisfaction of seeing that she was not the occasion of 
mine. But I absolutely refused to leave her, and taking her 
by the hand I led her on : she complied with great reluctance, 
and not without many reproaches to herself for retarding my 

♦ An island twenty miles from Naples, now allied Capri. 


42 


POMPEII. 


flight. The ashes now began to fall njjon us, though in no 
great quantity. I turned my head, and observed behind, us a 
thick smoke, which came rolling after us like a torrent. ^ I 
proposed, while we had yet any light, to turn out of the high 
road, lest she should be pressed to death in the dark by the 
crowd that followed us. We had scarce stepped out of the 
path, when darkness overspread us, not like that of a cloudy 
nie'ht, or when there is no moon, but of a room when it is 
shut up and all the lights extinct. Nothing then w^as to be 
heard but the shrieks of women, the screams of children, and 
the cries of men; some calling for their children, others for 
their parents, others for theii* husbands, and only distinguish¬ 
ing each other by their voices ; one lamenting his own fate, 
another that of his family ; some wishing to die from the very 
fear of dying ; some lifting their hands to the gods ; but the 
greater part imagining that the last and eternal night was 
come, which was to destroy the gods and the world together."*"- 
Among these were some who augmented the real'terrors by 
imaginary ones, and made the frighted multitude falsely 
believe that Misenum was actually in flames. At length a 
glimmering light appeared, which we imagined to be rather 
the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames, as in truth 
it was, than the return of day. However, the fire fell at a 
distance from us. Then again we were immersed in thick 
darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes rained upon us, which 
we were obliged every now and then to shake off, otherwise 
we should have been crushed and buried in the heap. I 
might boast that, during all this scene of horror, not a sigh 
or expression of fear escaped from me, had not my support 
been founded in that miserable, though strong consolation— 
that all mankind were involved in the same calamity, and 
that I imagined I was perishing with the world itself! At 
last this dreadful darkness was dissipated by degrees, like a 
cloud of smoke ; the real day retm-ned, and even the sun 
appeared, though very faintly, and as wdien an eclipse is 
coming on. Every object that presented itself to our eyes 
(which were extremely wetikened) seemed changed, being 

* The Stoic and Epicurean philosophers held that the world was to he 
destroyed by fire, and all things fall again into original chaos ; not excepting 
even the national gods themselves from the destruction of this general con¬ 
flagration. 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 


43 


covered over with white ashes, as with a deep snow. We 
returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as well 
as we could, and passed an anxious night between hope and 
fear—though indeed with a much larger share of the latter— 
for the earthquake still continued, while several enthusiastic 
people ran up and down, heightening their own and their 
friends’ calamities by terrible predictions. However, my 
mother and 1, notwithstanding the danger we had passed, 
and that which still threatened us, had no thoughts of 
leaving the place till we should receive some account from 
my uncle. 

“ And now you will read this narrative without any view 
of inserting it in your history, of which it is by no means 
worthy; and indeed you must impute it to your own request 
if it shall deserve the trouble of a letter. Farewell.” * 

Pompeii was not destroyed by an inundation of lava; its 
elevated position sheltered it from that fate ; it was buried 
under that shower of stones and cinders of which Pliny 
speaks. Much of this matter appears to have been deposited 
in a liquid state, which is easily explained; for the vast 
volumes of steam sent up by the volcano descended in 
torrents of rain, which united with the ashes suspended in 
the air, or washed them, after they had fallen, into places 
where they could not well have penetrated in a dry state. 
Among other proofs of this, the skeleton of a woman was 
found in a cellar, enclosed within a mould of volcanic paste, 
which received and has retained a perfect impression of her 
form. Other moulds of a like kind have since been dis¬ 
covered. In the great eruption of 1779, minutely described 
by Sir William Hamilton, Ottaiano, a small town situated at 
the foot of Somma, most narrowly escaped similar destruction. 
The phenomena then observed may be presumed to correspond 
closely with those which occurred at Pompeii. 

“ On the night of the 8th of August, when the noise in¬ 
creased, and the fire began to appear above the mountain of 
Somma, many of the inhabitants of this town flew to the 
churches, and others were preparing to quit the town, when 
a sudden violent report was heard, soon after which they 
found themselves involved in a thick cloud of smoke and 

* Pliny’s Letters, vi. 20 : Melmoth’s translation. 


44 


POMPEII. 


minute aslies; a horrid clashing was lieard in the air, and 
presently fell a deluge of stones and large scoriae, some of 
which scoriae were of the diameter of seven or eight feet, and 
must have weighed more than one hundred pounds before 
they were brolcen by their fall, as some of the fragments of 
them, which I picked up in the streets, still weighed upwards 
of sixty pounds. When these large vitrified masses either 
struck against one another in the air, or fell on the ground, 
they broke into many pieces, and covered a large space 
around them with vivid sparks of fire, which communicated 
their heat to everything that was combustible. In an instant 
the town and country about it was on fire in many parts; for 
in the vineyards there were several straw huts, which had 
been erected for the watchmen of the grapes, all of which 
were burnt. A great magazine of .wood in the heart of the 
town was all in a blaze; and had there been much wind, the 
flames must have spread universally, and all the inhabitants 
would infallibly have been burnt in their houses, for it was 
impossible for them to stir out. Some who attempted it, with 
pillows, tables, chairs, the tops of wine-casks, &c., on their 
heads, were either knocked down, or soon driven back to 
their close quarters, under arches and in the cellars of their 
houses. Many w'ere wounded, but only two persons have 
died of the wounds they received from this dreadful volcanic 
shower. To add to the horror of the scene, incessant volcanic 
lightning was whisking about the black cloud that surrounded 
them, and the sulphureous heat and smell would scarcely 
allow them to draw their breath. In this miserable and 
alarming situation they remained about twenty-five minutes, 
when the volcanic storm ceased all at once.”* It is evident 
that if the eruption had continued for a brief space longer, 
Ottaiano must have perished like Pompeii. 

The dreadful effects of the eruption of 79, in changing 
the external face of nature, are recorded by Roman authors 
of the period. Tacitus tells us that the view over the bay, 
from the island of Capri, before so beautiful, had been 
completely changed by that catastrophe.f And Martial, in 
the epigram before quoted, gives a glowing picture of the 

* Campi Phlegrsei, supplement, p. 19. 

t Prospectabatque pulcherrimum sinum antequam Vesuvius mons arde 
scens faciem loci vei terat.— Ann, iv. 64. 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 45 

country about Vesuvius before it vanished under heaps of 
ashes.* 

The materials with which Pompeii is buried are from 20 to 
24 feet deep. The greater part of this covering is composed 
of white, or whitish-grey pounded stones or ashes {lapilli), 
which peculiarly characterize the eruption of 79. Pompeii 
may have subsequently been covered to the depth of a few 
feet by subsequent eruptions, distinguished by the greyish- 
black colour of the ashes. Five-sixths of the depth of the 
materials consist of pumice-stones of an irregular shape, 
from the size of a pea to two or three inches diameter. Over 
this is another layer, of an average depth of two feet, which 
appears to have been attended in its descent with an enormous 
fall of water, forming what the Italians call a lava havosa. The 
outer surface has, in process of time, been converted into a 
fine mould, which now bears lupins and corn, and even mul¬ 
berry and other trees, as may be seen in the unexcavated 
parts. It has been pretty generally thought that the ashes 
descended upon Pompeii in a burning state; and to this 
circumstance has been ascribed the carbonization of the 
wood, bread, and other combustible substances. Overbeck, 
however, is of opinion I that they were not in that state of 
excandescence in which they would have set fire to anything, 
though they were probably hot enough to change any coloured 
siu'faces with which they came in contact, as red into yellow, 
and to give a green shade to blues, and he refers the process 
of carbonization to the circumstance of the carbonized articles 
having been buried so many centuries. Hence, he thinks, 
that fire was no element in the destruction of Pompeii, 
though the immense masses of water always thrown up 
during such eruptions undoubtedly was. 

With respect to the number of persons destroyed by the 
eruption no accurate and authentic calculation has been made, 
nor in fact can be made till the whole city shall have been 
uncovered. Even the number of bodies hitherto found in 
the process of excavation has not been satisfactorily ascer¬ 
tained ; but the frequency with which such discoveries are 
mentioned in the journals, and sometimes of thirty or forty 
bodies together, may justify the conclusion thet they amount 


Epp, iv. 44. 


t Pcmpeii. B. i. § 29. 


46 


POMPEII. 


to 600 or 700. This inference is sti’engthened hj the fact 
that in the small portion of the city uncovered since Fiorelli 
undertook the direction of the excavations in 1861, more 
than forty human skeletons have been found, besides those of 
horses, goats, dogs, and cats.* If, therefore, such discoveries 
should proceed in the same ratio, we may conclude—since only 
about one-third of the city has been disinterred—that some 
2000 persons must haVe perished. A sufficiently terrible catas¬ 
trophe ! yet, at the same time, a result which shows that the 
great bulk of the population had sufficient warning and time 
to save their lives. The same conclusion may be drawn from 
the account of Pliny, as well as from the circumstance that 
though the people were assembled in the amphitheatre when 
the eruption broke out, but very few bodies have been found 
there; and even these, as Overbeck remarks, may, perhaps, 
have been those of gladiators ali*eady slain. The skeletons 
found are probably those of the sick, the infirm, and the ii-re- 
solute; of those who mistakingly thought that they should 
find protection against the fatal shower in their houses or 
their cellars; or of those who, from motives of avarice, and 
sometimes, perhaps, of affection, lingered in search of 
their treasures or their beloved ones till there was no longer 
time to effect their escape. 

That the eruption was accompanied with an earthquake 
may be inferred from the fact that some skeletons have 
been found of persons killed by the falling of ruins upon 
them. .Thus, on the 14th of June, 1787, eight skeletons 
were discovered under the debris of a wall,t and on the 5th 
of May, 1818, were found in the Forum the bones of a man 
who had been crushed by a marble column falling upon 
him.J 

This earthquake may have contributed, as well as that of 
the year 63, to give the town that ruined appearance which 
is so observable. There can, however, be little doubt that 
this appearance was also partly caused by searches made 
after the catastrophe for hidden treasures, statues, marbles, 
&c. The light nature of the covering under which Pompeii 
was buried rendered this no difficult task. There are 

* Overbeck, Pompeii, B. i. § 30. 

t Pomp. Ant. Hist., T. i. Ease. ii. p. 37. 

+ Ibid. Ease. iii. p. 203. 


HISTORICAL NOTI'JE. 


47 

evident traces of ’ such searches; and in no other way 
can we explain the comparative paucity of valuable articles 
that have been discovered, not only gold and silver, but 
also sculptures. 

Such researches appear to have been carried on during a 
long period; since it is recorded of the Emperor Alexander 
Severus that he made Pompeii a sort of quarry, from which 
he drew a great quantity of marbles, columns, and beautiful 
statues, which he employed in adorning the edifices which 
he constructed at Rome."^ The Emperor Titus* appears to 
have entertained the idea of rebuilding the ruined cities of 
Campaniaa plan, however, which was never carried 
into execution, either on account of the death of that 
emperor, which shortly after supervened, or more proba- 
because it was found that ■> the benefit to be derived 
from such a proceeding would be utterly inadequate to the 
expense of it. 

During a period of 1669 years Pompeii remained buried 
and seemed entirely forgotten, notwithstanding that its site, 
probably ever since its destruction, had always borne the 
name of Civita, or the City. It is singular that it was not 
discovered sooner, for Dominico Fontana, an eminent archi¬ 
tect of the sixteenth century, having been employed in the 
year 1592 to bring the waters of the Sarno to the town of 
Torre dell’ Annuuziata, cut a subterraneous canal under the 
site of Pompeii, which, entering the city near the Gate of 
the Sarno, traverses it in a winding direction, passing near 
the great theatre and under the Forum, till it makes its 
exit on the western side, a little to the north of the Sea Gate. 
In the course of this work the basements of buildings were 
often encountered; yet this circumstance does not seem 
to have awakened any curiosity, nor to have excited a desire 
to prosecute further researches. Ruins were also discovered 
in 1689, and even an inscription with the name of PojIpei; 
but these indications were disregarded like the former. 

* Some buildings now completely excavated bear marks of having been 
previously searched by the ancients. In such places, all valuable effects and 
materials have been carried away, as, lor instance, the columns of the portico 
of Eumachia, a building adjoining the Forum, to be described hereafter, and 
the furniture of the RaaUica. 

f Suet. Tit. 8, 


POMPEII. 


48 

At length, in 1748, in the reign of Charles III., the first 
Bourbon king of Naples, a Spanish colonel of engineers, 
named Don Eocco Alcubierre, was employed to examine the 
subterranean canal before mentioned; and having heard from 
the inhabitants of Torre Annunziata that the remains of a 
house, with ancient statues and other objects, had been dis¬ 
covered at a distance of about two miles, he was led to con¬ 
jecture that some ancient city lay buried there, overwhelmed 
by the great eruption of Vesuvius in 79. The discovery of 
Herculaneum early in the 18th century had now drawn the 
attention of the learned and scientific world to this subject. 
Colonel Alcubierre obtained permission to undertake some 
excavations at the spot where the ruined house had been 
discovered, and early in April, 1748. he commenced his 
researches, in the street afterwards called the Strada della 
Fortuna. In a few days his labours were rewarded by the 
discovery of a picture 11 palms long by 4 t palms high, con¬ 
taining festoons of eggs, fruits, and flowers, the head of a 
man, large and in a good style, a helmet, an owl, various 
small birds, and other objects. A regular journal of the dis¬ 
coveries was kept, in Spanish, and was continued in that 
language down to the 7th of July, 1764, after which the 
Italian was substituted for it. On the 19th of April, 1748, 
the first skeleton was found, that of a man lying on the ashes, 
or rajnllo, and covered wuth the lava mud. Near him were 
eighteen brass, and one silver coin.^ Before the end of the 
year the amphitheatre was excavated, wEich is declared in 
the journal capable of holding 12,000 persons—an exaggera¬ 
tion of not more than 2000. It may be remarked that it is 
called in the journal the amphitheatre of Stah{ce.'\ For several 
years it was imagined that the remains discovered belonged 
to that town, which is now known to have occupied, the site 
of the present Castellamare. 

The name of Pompeii is first used in the journal, November 
27th, 1756, but it does not appear how the city came to be 
identified. Any doubts that might have been entertained 
upon the subject must however have been removed by the 
discovery, near the tomb of Mammia (August 20th, 1763), of 
the following inscription, recording the restoration by Ves- 

♦ Fiorelli, Pomp. Antiq. Hist., t. i. p. 2. f ^Oid, p. 6. 

X Pnd. p. 46. 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 49 

pasian to the municipality of the Pompeians of all public 
ground occupied by private persons :— 

EX AVCTORITATE 
IMP CAESARIS 
VESPASIANI AVG 
LOG A PVBLICA A PRIVATIS 
POSSESSA T SVEDIVS CLEMENS 
TRIBVNVS CAVSIS COGNITIS ET 
MENSVRIS FACTIS REI 
PVBLICAE POMPEIAN OR VM 
RESTITVIT.* 

The following account of the progress of the excavations 
is taken from an admirable article on Pompeii in the Quarterly 
Heview for April, 1864. ; 

“ The excavations were carried on for many years on a 
very limited scale, and with very varying success. The 
workmen employed were chiefly condemned felons, who 
worked chained in pairs, and Mohammedan slaves taken from 
the Barbary pirates. The greatest secrecy was maintained, 
and no stranger could obtain admission to the ruins. No 
regular plan seems to have been made of the part of the town 
uncovered, nor was there any attempt to restore or keep up 
the buildings. The reports contain accurate descriptions ot 
the discoveries—the statues, paintings on the walls, sand the 
various objects in gold, silver, and other metals. Such fhings 
were diligently searched for, and were sent ofl to4he':royal 
collections as soon as discovered. Copies wer%«^ak€n of the 
most important paintings, w^hich were then'* detached from 
the walls and transferred to the MuS&tm, the edifices in 
which they were found being left to perish, or being again 
covered up with the rubbish removed from adjoining exca¬ 
vations.” 

The most important discoveries made during the remainder 
of the eighteenth century were, that called the Soldier’s 
Quarters, close to the theatres, in December, 1766, and that 
of the suburban villa of Diomedes. The excavation of the 
latter was commenced in July, 1771; and such was at that 
time the dilatoriness of the operation, that it was not till 

* Fiore] 1), Potap, Antiq. Hist., t. i. p. 153. 

E 


50 


POMPEH. 


December, 1772, that the corridor, or subterranean passage, 
containing a group of eighteen skeletons, was discovered. 
Indeed, during the sway of the Bourbon kings nothing was 
done in a liberal spirit or from a real love of aii;. The 
excavations were a mere source of jobbing and peculation; 
strangers who visited them were subjected to the most irk¬ 
some regulations, as well as the demand of exorbitant fees; 
and it was only with the greatest difficulty and after weari¬ 
some delays that permission could be obtained to take a copy 
of any mosaic, fresco, or other object of interest that might 
have been discovered. The short period during which the 
French occupied Naples, beginning in January, 1806, forms 
an exception to the preceding remarks. During this period 
the greater portion of the Street of the Tombs, the Forum, and 
the line of walls were laid open, and the reclearing of the 
amphitheatre, which appears to have been again filled up, was 
begun. It was at this time that Mazois commenced his 
splendid work on Pompeii, under the patronage of Madame 
Murat, or Queen Caroline. Saliceti, the intelligent minister of 
Murat, appears to have given an impulse to the work of 
excavation, and undertook some scavi at his own expense. 

After the restoration of the Bourbons the works were 
slowly continued; but it is to this period that several of the 
most interesting excavations must be referred; as those of 
several temples round the Forum, of the public baths, the 
hoase of the tragic poet, of the Fountain, of the Faun, the 
Fullonica. and many others which will be specified in the 
sequel. The revolution which drove the Bourbons from the 
throne had a great influence on the proceedings of Pompeii. 
When, in 1859, Garibaldi become dictator of Naples, he 
appointed the romance writer, M. Alexandre Dumas, director 
of the Museums and excavations. M. Dumas lived at 
Naples in princely magnificence ; but he was totally unfit 
for the office assigned to him, and is said to have visited 
Pompeii only once. After the establishment of Victor Em¬ 
manuel’s authority in the Neapolitan dominions, as king 
of Italy, the place of director of the scavi was bestowed on the 
Gavaliere Giuseppe Fiorelli, who had been long distinguished 
as a scholar and an antiquary, but whose liberal opinions had 
Drought upon him the persecution of the Bourbon govern- 
uicnt. Respecting the reforms effected by this gentleman in 


HISTOEICAL NOTICE. 


51 


tlie method of conducting the excavations, we cannot do better 
than transcribe the following passages from the article before 
mentioned in the Quarterly Beview* 

“With the appointment of the Cavaliere Fiorelli a new 
era commenced at Pompeii. Hitherto the excavations had 
been carried on without definite or intelligible plan. The 
aim of those who directed them was to find as many objects 
of value as possible to add to the already magnificent col¬ 
lection in the Eoyal Museum. No very careful or accurate 
observations were consequently made whilst the earth and 
rubbish were being hastily and carelessly removed. Im¬ 
portant and interesting facts were left unrecorded, and the 
means of restoring many of the architectural details of the 
buildings discovered were neglected. Signor Fiorelli had 
perceived how much could be done by removing the volcanic 
deposits with care, and upon a regular system, taking note of 
every appearance or fragment which might afford or suggest 
a restoration of any part of the buried edifices. The plan 
he pursues is this. The excavations are commenced by clear¬ 
ing away from the ’surface the vegetable mould, in which 
there are no remains. The volcanic substances, either 
lapillo, or hardened lava-mud, in which ruins of buildings 
may exist, are then very gradually removed. Every fragment 
of brickwork is kept in the place where it is found, and fixed 
there by props. When charred wood is discovered, it is re¬ 
placed by fresh timber. By thus carefully retaining in it& 
original position what still exists, and by replacing that 
which has perished, but has left its trace, Signor Fiorelli has 
been able to preserve and restore a large part of the upper 
portion of the buried houses. 

“ One of the first and most interesting results of the im¬ 
proved system upon which the excavations are thus carried 
on, has been the discovery and restoration of the second story 
of a Pompeian house, and especially of the menianum, a pro¬ 
jecting gallery or balcony overhanging the street. This 
part of a Koman building, which is frequently represented in 
the wall-paintings, but the existence of which at Pompeii 
had been doubted or denied, was built of brick, and supported 
by strong wooden beams and props. The masonry is still in 

* Page 329, seq. 


52 


POMPEII. 


many cases preserved; the carbonized wood had to he re¬ 
stored. Some of these gaUeries seem to have been entirely 
open, like a modern balcony, and as they are represented in 
the frescoes; others formed part of the upper chambers of 
the honse, and were furnished with small windows, from 
which the inmates could see the passers-by. In the narrow 
streets of Pompeii, these projecting galleries must have 
approached so nearly as almost to exclude the rays of even 
the midsummer sun, and to throw a grateful shade below. 
The upper stories, which appear to have been sometimes 
more than one in number, were reached by stairs of brick or 
wood. Some of those in brick are still partly preserved. 
Those in wood have perished; but the holes for the beams 
are there, and the charred beams themselves can be renewed. 

“ By Signor Fiorelli’s careful and ingenious restorations, 
we can now, for the first time, picture to ourselves the appear¬ 
ance of a Roman town. Previously we only had the bare 
walls, forming nothing but a collection of shaj)eless ruins. 
Had his plan been adopted from the commencement, had the 
position of every fragment been noted at the time of its 
discovery, and had the doors, windows, and other wood¬ 
work been restored by the process we shall describe, instead 
of wandering amidst a confused mass of crumbling walls, we 
should have found ourselves in a Roman town, the houses of 
which might still have almost harboured its population. As 
far as we can now judge, Pompeii must have nearly resembled 
in its principal features a modern eastern city. The outside 
of the houses gave but little promise of the beauty and rich¬ 
ness of the inside. The sudden change from the naked 
brick walls facing the narrow street to the spacious court¬ 
yard, adorned with paintings, statues, and coloured stuccoes, 
ornamented with flower-beds and fountains, and surrounded 
by alcoves and porticoes, from which the burning rays of the 
sun were w'arded olf by rich tapestries and embroidered 
hangings, will remind the eastern traveller of Damascus or 
Ispahan. The overhanging galleries, with the small latticed 
windows; the mean shops—mere recesses in the outer walls 
of the houses; the brick-built counter, with the earthen 
jars and pans let into it; the mai-ble slabs, on which the 
tradesman exposed his wares and received liis cash; the 
awning stretched across the street (the holes by which it was 


HISTORICAL NOTICE. 


53 


fastened are still visible) ; the caravanserai or khan, outside 
the city gate, with its many small rooms opening into a stable 
behind and a court-yard in front (the skeletons of horses and 
their metal trappings were found in the ruins of such an 
hostelry on the Herculean way), are all characteristic of a 
modern eastern town.” 

We shall conclude this account of the disinterment of 
Pompeii with a short general sketch of the progress of the 
excavations.* The amphitheatre was first partially excavated 
in 1748. Before the end of the last century, the quarter of 
the theatres, the Temple of Isis, and the northern portion of 
the town, from the Gate of Herculaneum to the first fountain, 
had been disinterred. During the first ten years of the 
present century the work proceeded very slowly; but the 
years from 1811 to 1824 were marked by considerable 
activity. In this period were excavated the Forum and the 
adjoining temples and houses, the whole of the amphitheatre, 
the Street of Abundance or of the Merchants, the old baths, 
the Temple of Fortune, the houses of Pansa, Sallust, &c. In 
1825 was uncovered the insula adjoining the house of Pansa 
on the east, comprising the house of the tragic poet and the 
Fullonica. During the next five years the excavations were 
pursued in the Street of Mercury and its vicinity. The 
principal discoveries in this period were the houses of Me¬ 
leager, of the Centaur, of Castor and Pollux, of Flora and 
Zephyrus, of the Anchor, and of the five skeletons. 

The Street of Mercury having been cleared, though not all 
the adjoining buildings, excavations were begun in the 
autumn of 1830 in the street called the Strada della Fortuna, 
leading from the Temple of Fortune toward the Gate of Nola. 
The researches in this direction were rewarded before the 
end of the year by the discovery of the house of the Faun, 
one of the finest private houses in Pompeii, without except¬ 
ing even that of Pansa. Behind it was excavated in 1832 
the house of the Labyrinth. Further discoveries in this 
direction about this period were the houses of the Grand 
Duke of Tuscany, of the black walls, and of the figured 
capitals, on the south side of the Street of Fortune. Opera¬ 
tions were also pursued in the Street of the Augustals. On 


See Aloe, Euines de Pompeii, p xlvii. 


POMPEII. 


54 


this side was discovered (1832—33) the House of the Coloured 
Capitals, better known as the House of Ariadne, adjoining the 
Vico Storto, and extending from the Street of the Augustals 
to that of Fortune. The Casa di Apollo, at the bottom of the 
Street of Mercury, 1835. In 1837 and following years, a 
good deal was done in the Street of the Tombs; but down to 
1843 the excavations were principally continued in the 
northernmost part of the town, near the house of Apollo. 
In that and the following year the street which leads from 
the Porta Marina to the Forum, between the Basilica and 
'j.’emple of Venus, was cleared. Subsequently, till 1851, the 
excavations were chiefly continued in the neighbourhood of 
the Forum and the Vico Storto. In 1847 was discovered 
the house of M. Lucretius, or of the Suonatrice. The ex¬ 
cavations in this direction along the Street of Stabiac were 
resumed in 1851, and continued during several subsequent 
years, as well as in the Street of Holconius, which leads out it 
to the Street of Abundance. The Porta Stabiana was dis¬ 
covered in 1851, and, soon after, theStabian, or Great Baths. 
Since the appointment of the Commendatore to the direction 
of the works in 1860, operations have been chiefly carried on 
in the block of buildings formed by the Street of Holconius 
on the north, that of Isis on the south, that of the theatres on 
the west, and that of Stabiac on the east; and the district 
lying to the north of this, and comprised between the Street 
of the Augustals, that of Abundance, the eastern side of the 
Forum, and the Street of Stabiac. The researches in these 
two districts have been rewarded by many important dis¬ 
coveries. In the former have been excavated the house of 
Cornelius Rufus, and that commonly called the house of 
Holconius; while in the latter have been discovered the 
house of the Nuova Caccia, of the Balcone Pensile, of the 
New Fountain, the Lupanar, and other olyects which we 
shall have occasion to mention in the sequel. 


55 


chaptp:k III. '. 

POSITION OF POMPEII ; ITS GENERAL APPEARANCE, ROADS, WALLS, 
GATES, STREETS, ETC. 

Pompeii is situated on an isolated hill, or plateau, which 
rises in the plain at the southern foot of Mount Vesuvius. 
This hill, which is sufficiently marked in form, though of 
moderate size, must have been produced by a stream of lava 
thrown up by Vesuvius centuries before the foundation of 
the city, and in a period too remote for memory or record. 
On the western side of the town, or that facing the sea, the 
ascent is so abrupt and sudden as almost to resemble a cliff; 
whence some writers have been led to conclude that its walls 
on this side were originally washed by the sea. In support 
of this opinion it has been said that shells and sea sand have 
been found by digging on the side adjoining the coast; and 
it is even asserted that rings have been found close to the 
ruins, intended, as is supposed, for the mooring of vessels. 
The authority of Strabo, in a passage before quoted, has 
been adduced to confirm this view; but his words serve at 
least equally to prove that the trade of the place was carried 
on by the river Sarnus, which runs past it a little to thc- 
south. If so, however, this stream has shrunk among the 
other physical changes which have occurred in the country ; 
for it is now nothing more than a rivulet, entirely unsuited 
to any purposes of trade. 

Pompeii at present stands about a mile from the sea, and 
very strong arguments have been adduced to j)rove that it 
must have been at the same distance in ancient times. The 
writers who hold this opinion consider that the beds of 
shells and the rings said to have been found prove nothing. 
The shells may have existed there long before the foundation 
of Pompeii ; and that the rings asserted to have been found, 
of which there are no longer any traces, served for the 
mooring of vessels, is a mere conjecture. On the other hand 
it is affirmed that graves have been found where the harbour 
must have existed ; and Overbeck, one of the latest writers 


56 


POMPEII. 


on the subject, says that he has not only found remains of 
ancient buildings several hundred paces on the other side of 
the railway to the south of Pompeii, but alsb that there 
exist, about half a mile south-west of it, at the mill near the 
bridge over the Sarno and the mouth of the canal which runs 
to Torre Annunziata, some very considerable remains of 
ancient foundations, cisterns, and amphor[e, built into the 
walls ; nay, that these are even buried under white lapilli, or 
pumice stones, such as could have been thrown out only by 
the eruption of Vesuvius in a.d. 79.* Nor can it be said, 
that if the ground had the present configuration when Pom¬ 
peii was founded, the city would have been built by prefer¬ 
ence closer to the sea. The hill was chosen as a stronger 
situation, as it would have given the command of the city to 
any inimical force that might have occupied it. Another 
argument may be adduced from the circumstance that Hercu¬ 
laneum, to the north of Pompeii, and Stabiss (Castellamare), 
to the south, which were overwhelmed by the same eruption, 
still lie on the margin of the sea, showing that on both sides 
of Pompeii no alteration in the coast-line was produced by 
that catastrophe. 

The situation of Pompeii appears to have possessed all 
local advantages that the most refined taste could desire. 
Upon the verge of the sea, at the entrance of a fertile plain, 
on the bank of a navigable river, it united the conveniences 
of a commercial town with the security of a military station 
and the romantic beauty of a spot celebrated in all ages for 
its pre-eminent loveliness. Its environs, even to the heights 
of Vesuvius, were covered with villas, and the coast, all the 
way to Naples, was so ornamented with gardens and villages, 
that the shores of the whole gulf appeared as one city ; while 
the prodigious concourse of strangers who came here in 
search of health and recreation added new charms and life to 
the scene. But these advantages were dearly purchased. 
An enemy, at that time unknown, was silently working its 
destruction—an enemy which, from time to time, still deso¬ 
lates the modern towns which stand upon the buried and long- 
forgotten cities of antiquity. 

* Oveibeck, Pompeii, &c., B. i., § 13. Winckelmann, in his Sendschreihen 
V. d. hercul. Entdeckungen, § 17, doubted long ago that Pompeii was seated 
on the sea. ‘ 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


57 


The chief approach to Pompeii was on the north-west by 
the Via Domitiana, a branch of the great Appian Way, 
which, turning off at Sinuessa, ran along the coast from 
Naples, through Oplontis, Eetina, and Herculaneum, entering 
Pompeii by the gate named after the latter city. A second 
road, issuing from the Gate of Nola, joined the Popilian Way 
at that place ; while a third, from the Gate of Stabise, divided 
into two branches, one of which ran to the town of the same 
name, while the other led to Nuceria. These seem to have 
been the chief approaches, though of course there were roads 
leading to all the other gates. 

The city was anciently surrounded with walls, of which 
the greater portion has been traced. Its general figure,'as 
defined by them, is something like that of an egg, whose 
apex is at the amphitheatre. Its circuit is nearly two miles, 
the greatest length little more than three quarters of a mile, 
and the breadth less than half a mile. Even Arrius Dio- 
medes, who lived at the extremity of the suburb, would only 
have had about six hundred yards to walk to the Forum for 
his business, and less than a mile to the amphitheatre for 
his pleasure. The area of the city is about one hundred and 
sixty-one acres ; the excavated part, which lies on the western 
side, is rather more than a third of the whole, and has been 
one hundred and eighteen years in excavating; so that new 
discoveries may still await our great-grandsons. 

The course of the walls has been traced and ascertained 
by excavation. From the Gate of Herculaneum they pro¬ 
ceeded in an easterly direction to the amphitheatre, and 
thence along the south side of the city to the quarter of the 
theatres; but from this point, and along all the western side, 
they have been pulled down since ancient times, and their 
place has been occupied on the \vest by the large three-storied 
houses built in terrace fashion on the steep declivity of the hill. 
For the greater part of their circuit the walls are curvilinear, 
avoiding all sharp angles as much as possible, in accordance 
with the principle of fortification laid down by Vitruvius, 
that it is desirable to avoid sharp angles, as offering more 
protection to the besiegers than to the besieged.* On many 

* Directly the reverse is recommended by Vegetins, who further advises 
that towers should be placed at the salient angles, for the advantage of taking 
the enemy in flank. 


POMPEII. 


58 

of the stones certain characters have been found, intended, 
apparently, as directions to the workmen, which are said by 
M. Mazois to be either Oscan or the most ancient forms of 
the Greek alphabet; whence some authorities have drawn 
the conclusion that the walls must be referred to a period 
antecedent to the Etruscan occupation of this part of Italy, 
and that they may probably be Pelasgic. Other writers 
again are of opinion that there are no grounds for referring 
them to so remote an age. They allow, indeed, that they 
must be of very considerable antiquity, and built in the 
times of Oscan independence, though they deny that the 
marks on the stones before alluded to bear any resemblance 
to the Oscan alphabet, and consider them to have been mere 
arbitrary marks of the stone-masons.* It should be observed, 
however, that the towers and some parts of the walls are of 
a much later age than the remainder. These, which are 
probably repairs of the damage inflicted by Sulla in the 
Social War, consist of what is called opus incertum ; that is, 
stones, mostly tufo or lava, broken into small pieces, cemented 
with mortar, and covered with a coating of stucco, so as to 
resemble the primitive walls; as may still be observed in 
some places. 

With the exception of these restored parts, the structure of 
the walls is similar throughout, and consists of large w'ell- 
hewn pieces of stone—in the lower courses Travertine, in the 
upper Piperino. They are fitted together without mortar, 
and join one another vertically in a somewhat oblique direc¬ 
tion, so that the surface of each stone is usually a rhomboid or 
trapezium. 

Witliin this external wall, with towers at intervals, the 
usual defence of the most ancient Italian cities, there was 
thrown up an agger, or earthen mound, wdiich Vitruvius 
considered, when properly combined with masonry, proof 
against the battering-ram, or mining, or any known method 
of assault. His directions for constructing it are as follows. 
A ditch is to be dug as large and deep as possible, the sides 
perpendicular and walled. The earth is heaped up on the 
inside, and supported both within and without by walls strong 
enough to bear its thrust, bonded together, for further 


* OvL-.vbeck, Pomp. D. H. § oO. 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


59 


security, by internal cross walls, between which the excavated 
material must be firmly rammed down, that it may still offer 
substantial resistance, even when the external masonry has 
been ruined. A considerable breadth is to be allowed for 
this raised platform, so that cohorts may have room to fight 
along its whole extent, as if ranged for battle.* The walls 
of Pompeii answer this description; but there is no outer 
ditch, and it is doubtful whether one ever existed, or whether" 
it was filled up in later times. This construction, however, 
does not extend to the south side of the city, which was less 
exposed to the attack of military engines, and therefore re¬ 
quired less strength. On the north and north-east, the ram¬ 
parts of Pompeii, as shown in the annexed cut, consisted of 
an earthen terrace (b) fourteen feet wide, walled and counter- 



Restored section of the -walls and agger of Pompeii. 


walled, which was ascended from the city by flights of steps 
(c), broad enough for several men abreast. The external 
face (a), including the parapet, was about twenty-five feet high; 
the inner wall was raised some feet higher. The external 
wall is inclined slightly towards the city; the lower courses, 
instead of being inclined, are set slightly back, one behind 
another. The style of masonry we have already described. 

Both walls were capped with battlements, so that from the 
country there was an appearance of a double line of defence, 
but the interior was useless except to give a more formidable 
aspect to the fortifications. These battlements were in¬ 
geniously contrived to defend the soldiers, who could throw 
their missiles through the embrasure in comparative safety, 


* Vitruv. i. 5. 




60 


POMPEII. 


being protected by u return or shoulder of the battlement 
projecting inward. The towers, as we have said, are of less 
ancient date. They are quadrangular, contrary to the rule 
laid down by Vitruvius, who says that towers ought to be 



circular or polygonal. “ Square towers are sooner breached, 
because the battering-ram breaks their angles ; round ones it 
cannot hurt, but merely drives the stones, which should be 
cut wedge-like, towards their common centre.”* He also 


Vitruv. i. 5. 





































POSITION OF POMPEII. 


61 


recommends that they should be placed at no greater intervals 
than the cast of a javelin, so as to give one another mutual 
support, and flank the enemy in case of assault. This prin¬ 
ciple has been adhered to between the Gate of Herculaneum 
and that of Vesuvius, where they are only eighty paces 
distant from each other, but towards the east the distance is 
two, three, and even four hundred and eighty paces. We 
may suppose, therefore, that the ground* in this quarter pre¬ 
sented some difficulty to the approach of machines. All of 
them lAve archways, allowing a free passage along the agger, 
and are furnished with a sallyport; all are alike, and each 
consists of several stories. The walls and towers are much 



View of the wall and towers from iihuut. 


ruined. It is impossible to attribute this entirely to the 
earthquakes which preceded and accompanied the eruption of 
79. The outer wall of the towers seems invariably to have 
fallen. Sir W. Gell conjectures that it was demolished by 
Sulla at the end of the Social War, as the readiest means of 
rendering the fortifications useless. Probably the place had 
been dismantled at diiferent periods, as various breaches and 
repairs seem to indicate. For some time before its cata¬ 
strophe, defences seem to have been thought unnecessary; for 
if they ever existed, as most likely they did, on the seaward 
side, they had been thrown down, and handsome houses, 
often four or five stories high, erected on their site. The 
long peace, which Italy enjoyed under Augustus and his 
immediate successors, rendered fortifications useless, and it 
is probable that during that period it became convenient to 
enlarge the city by destroying them. At all events it is 



POMPEII. 


62 

certain that, in the later period of its existence, Pompeii was 
an open town. 

The construction of the upper part of the walls, and the 
battlements of the ramparts, evince an improved knowledge 
in the science of building, and point out a period much more 


'TZZL=\_ 



T 





Masonry of Pompeii. Isodcmon, or regular masonry of the 

Greeks. 


modern than that of the lower part; being composed of the 
isodomon, or regular masonry of the Greeks, above the more 
ancient basis. Some portions, however, of the upper wall 
consist, as we have already observed, of masonry of that 



Greek wall, similar in construction to the walls of Pompeii.* 


kind called by the ancients opus incertim, composed of small 
rough pieces, placed irregularly, and imbedded in a large 
quantity of mortar, resembling the flint and rubble masonry 


* Dodwell’s Travels in Greece. 































POSITION OF POMPEII. 03 

of our castles and churche's The difference of construction 
observable in the wall and towers shows that the latter are 
of much later date. This is what we should expect. The 
most ancient Greek fortifications, those of Tiryns and Mycenge, 
are without towers in those more recent, as at Orchomenus 
and Daulis, towers occur, but at considerable distances, and 
of small elevation. It was not until a much later period 
that they were built at regular intervals, and of commanding 
height, as at Plataea, Messene, and other cities.f 

There are seven gates in the length of wall which now 
exists, besides what is called the Porta della Marina, or Sea 
Gate, on the western side, now the principal entrance. They 
are all, except two, of Eoman construction. The first and 
most important stood at the north-western angle of the city, 
and led to Herculaneum, whence it has been called the Her¬ 
culaneum Gate. For about a furlong from the entrance the 
road is bordered with tombs^ as is the Appian Way where it 
issues from Eome. The gate is double, so that when the 
first doors had been carried, the assailers could be attacked 
from a large opening above, and destroyed while attempting 
to force the second. Strong buttresses of stone sustain the 
lateral pressure of the earthen rampart, which is ascended 
from the interior by ten very high and inconvenient steps. 
This gate in its arrangement resembles Temple Bar; there 
is a large central and two small side entrances, which, instead 
of being open to the sky, like the central road, were vaulted 
through their whole length. The inner gate consisted of 
folding doors, as the holes in the pavement, in which the 
pivots turned which served for hinges, evidently show; the 
outer defence was formed by a portcullis. The archway is 
constructed in brick and lava, in alternate layers, and covered 
with a fine white stucco. This, although the principal 
entrance to the city, is not striking for its beauty, and is 
small in its dimensions. The stucco is covered with nearly 
illegible inscriptions of ordinances, &c. The centre archway 
is in width fourteen feet seven inches, and might, perhaps, 
have been eighteen or twenty feet in height; but its arch 

* Except at Tiryns, where the gate is flanked by a solid tower ; it is hardly 
more, however, than a projection in the wall. See the Ground Plan in Gell’s 
* Argolis.’ 

j- Mazois. 


64 


POMrEII 



Gate of lleiculaiicum 
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































POSITION OF POMPEII. 


65 


does not remain. The smaller openings on each side for foot 
passengers were four feet six inches wide, and ten feet high ; 
in size, therefore, it scarcely equals Temple Bar. The road 
rises considerably into the city. On the left, before entering 
the gate, is a pedestal, which appears to have been placed for 
the purpose of sustaining a colossal statue of bronze, some 
fragments of bronze drapery having been found there. We 
may suppose it to have been the tutelary deity of the city.* 

Proceeding from the Gate of Herculaneum in an easterly 
direction round the walls, the remaining gates occur in the 
following order: the Gate of Vesuvius, the Gate of Capua, 
the Gate of Nola, the Gate of the Sarnus, the Gate of Nuceria, 
and the Gate of Stabiae, or the Theatres. From this point, 
as we have said, the wall can no longer be traced; but there 
is, on the western side, an eighth entrance to the city, which 
has been called the Porta della Marina, or Sea Gate. 

Of these gates, only those of Nola and of the Theatres 
need arrest our attention, as being evidently older than the 
rest, and previous to the Roman occupation. The gate of 
Nola has one or two remarkable peculiarities. It docs not 
begin, like that of Herculaneum, at the outer line of wall, 
but beyond the inner, at the end of a passage formed by 
strong masonry, and not much broader than the entry of the 
door itself. Hence it resembles the Gate of the Lions at 
Mycense. It was double, like that of Herculaneum, but the 
outer gate has been destroyed, and the second is a recon¬ 
struction of the same date as the towers. The mode in whicli 
this gate is constructed afforded a great advantage to the 
garrison over their assailants, who could only approach it in 
slender columns, and exposed on each side to the arrows 
and javelins of the defenders. Another peculiarity in this 
gate is that it does not cut the wall at a right, but at an 
acute angle; as the wall at this part slants off in a south¬ 
easterly direction- whilst the street which leads to the gate 
runs nearly east. 

Viewed from within, this gate displays two different con¬ 
structions, part of it being of square blocks of hewn stone, 
and part, of a more recent date, of brick. The key-stone of 
the arch is adorned, according to Etruscan custom, with a 


Sir W. Cell, p. 93. 


F 


66 


POMPEII. 


head in high relief, much damaged by the weather. If this 
keystone belonged to the original gate, which there seems no 
reasonable ground to doubt, it must be one of the oldest in 
Pompeii. The Oscan inscription beside it appears, however, 
not to be in its right place, and was probably placed there 
when the gate was restored. M. de Clarac * and others have 
translated this inscription as follows: “ Caius Popirius, son 
of Caius, Medixtuticus, restored this gate and consecrated it 
to Isis;” an interpretation from which the gate has also 
sometimes obtained the appellation of the Gate of Isis.’ 
But this imj^ortant and somewhat ludicrous error arose 
from a mistranslation of the last two words, isidu pruphaited, 
which have no relation to Isis. The whole translation ought 
to run: “ Vibius Popidius, son of Vibius, Medixtuticus, 
caused this (building) to be erected, and the same approved 
it.”t 

The gate near the Theatres, called the Gate of Stabiae, was 
discovered in 1851. The walls which flank it are of very 
ancient construction, being built of large square blocks of 
hewn stone, put together without mortar. This gate was not 
closed by a portcullis, but by strong double doors, as is plain 
from the holes for the bolts. An Oscan inscription, found on 
a square stone of travertine in this gateway, conveys some 
important information about Pompeian topography. It has 
been interpreted as follows by the Commendatore Quaranta 

P. SITTIUS M. F. N. PONTIUS P. F. 
iEDILES HANG VIAM TERMINA 
VERUNT ANTE PORTAM STABIA 
NAM VIM TERMINUM STATUERUNT PED 
X. IPSI VIAM POMPEIANAM TERMINA 
VERUNT PEDES III. ANTE CA 
LAM JOVIS MEILICHII HAS VI 
AS ET VIAM JOVIAM ET DECUMANAM VIA 
RUM CURATORES A POMPEIANIS 
SERVIS FIERI FECERUNT IP 
SI iFDILES PROBAVERUNT. 

That is: The ^Ediles, Publius Sittius, son of Marcus, and 
Numerius Pontius, son of Publius, laid down the limits of 
this street, and fixed the terminus of it ten feet beyond the 

* Pompeii, 8vo, 1818. t Overbeck, B. i, S. 57. 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


67 


Stabian Gate. They also fixed the limits of the Via Pom- 
peiana three feet before the enclosure of Jupiter Meilichius. 
These streets, as well as the Jovia and Decuniana, were con¬ 
structed by the public slaves of Pompeii, under the direction 
of the surveyors of the streets, and the same sediles approved 
of them. 

From this we learn that the gate we are treating of bore 
in ancient times the name of Stabiana, and that there were 
three streets, named respectively, Pompeiana, Jovia, and De- 
cumana, which, or at all events some of them, probably led to 
gates of the same name. We learn also that Jupiter Meili¬ 
chius had a temple in Pompeii. 

The Porta della Marina, or Sea Gate, consists of a long 
vaulted passage, through which a steep and narrow ascent 
leads towards the Forum. For the convenience of foot- 
passengers, an elevated footway, ascended by steps, ran along 
the left-hand side of it. On the other side are some ancient 
buildings, which are being converted into a local museum. 

We will now proceed to describe the general aspect of the 
city, and for this purpose it will be convenient to suppose 
that we have entered it by the gate of Herculaneum, though 
in other respects the Porta della Marina is the more usual, 
and, perhaps, the best entrance. 

On entering, the visitor finds himself in a street, running a 
little east of south, which leads to the Forum. To the right, 
stands a house formerly owned by a musician ; to the left, a 
thermopolium or shop for hot drinks; beyond is the house 
of the Vestals ; beyond this the custom-house ; and a little 
further on, where another street runs into this one from the 
north at a very acute angle, stands a public fountain. In the 
last-named street is a surgeon’s house; at least one so named 
from the quantity of surgical instruments found in it, all 
made of bronze. On the right or western side of the street, 
by which we entered, the houses, as we have said, are built 
on the declivity of a rock, and are several stories high. 

Tha fountain is about one hundred and fifty yards from 
the city gate. About the same distance, further on, the street 
divides into two; the right-hand turning seems a by-street, 
the left-hand turning conducts you to the Forum. The most 
important feature in this space is a house called the house of 
Sallust or of Actaeon, from a painting in it representing that 


POMPEII. 


68 

hunter’s death. It stands on an area about forty yards 
sq^uare, and is encompassed on three sides by streets ; by that 
namely which we have been describing, by another nearly 
parallel to it, and by a third, perpendicular to these two. 
The whole quarter at present excavated, as far as the Street 
of the Baths, continued by the Street of Fortune, is divided, 
by six longitudinal and one transverse street, into what the 
Eomans called islands, or insulated masses of houses. Two 
of these are entirely occupied by the houses of Pansa and of 
the Faun, which, with their courts and gardens, are about 
one hundred yards long by forty wide. 

From the Street of the Baths and that of Fortune, which 
bound these islands on the south, two streets lead to the two 
corners of the Forum; between them are baths, occupying 
nearly the whole island. Among other buildings are a milk- 
shop and gladiatorial school. At the north-east corner of 
the Forum was a triumphal arch. At the end of the Street 
of the Baths and beginning of that of Fortune, another 
triumphal arch is still to be made out, spanning the street of 
Mercury, so that this was plainly the way of state into the 
city. The Forum is distant from the gate of Herculaneum 
about four hundred yards. Of it we shall give a full descrip¬ 
tion in its place. Near the south-eastern corner two streets 
enter it, one running to the south, the other to the east. We 
will follow the former for about eighty yards, when it turns 
eastward for two Inmdred yards, and conducts us to the 
quarter of the theatres. The other street, which runs east¬ 
ward from the Forum, is of more importance, and is called 
the Street of the Silversmiths ;* at the end of which a short 
street turns southwards, and meets the other route to the 
theatres. On both these routes the houses immediately 
bordering on the streets are cleared ; but between them is a 
large rectangular plot of unexplored ground. Two very 
elegant houses at the south-west corner of the Forum were 
uncovered by the French general Cbampionnet, w’hile in 
command at Naples, and are known by his name. On the 
western side of the Forum two streets led down towards the 
sea: the excavations here consist almost entirely of public 
buildings, which will be described hereafter. 


Now the Street of Abundance. 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


69 


• The quarter of the theatres comprises a large temple, 
called the Temple of Neptune or Hercules, a temple of Isis, a 
temple of ^sculapius, two theatres, the Triangular Forum, 
and the quarters of the soldiers or gladiators. On the north 
and east it is bounded by streets; to the south and west it 
seems to have been enclosed partly by the town walls, partly 
by its own. Here the continuous excavation ends, and we 
must cross vineyards to the amphitheatre, distant from the 
theatre about five hundred and fifty yards, in the south-east 
corner of the city, close to the walls, and in an angle formed 
by them. Close to the amphitheatre are traces of walls sup¬ 
posed to have belonged to a Forum Boarium, or cattle market. 
Near at hand, a considerable building, called the villa of 
i Julia Felix, has been excavated and filled up again (1756). 
On the walls of it was discovered the following inscription, 
which may serve to convey an idea of the wealth of some of 
the Pompeian proprietors :— 

In Praedis Juli^ Sp. F. Felicis 
, Locantur 

.Balneum Venerium et Nongentum Tabern.® Pergul^e 
C cENACULA Ex Idibus Aug Primis 
In I DUS Aug. Sextus Annos Continuos Quinque 
S. Q. D. L. E. N. C.* 

That is: on the estate of Julia Felix, daughter of Spurius, 
are to be let a bath, a venereum, f nine hundred shops, with 
booths J and garrets, for a term of five continuous years, 
jrom the first to the sixth of the Ides of August. The 
formula, S. Q. D. L. E. N. C., with which the advertisement 
concludes, is thought to stand for—si quis domi lenocinium 
exerceat ne conducito : let no one apply who keeps a brothel. 

A little to the south of the smaller theatre was discovered, 
in 1851, the Gate of Stabias, which we have already described. 
Hence a long straight street, which has been called the Street 
of StabiaB, traversed the whole breadth of the city, till it 
issued out on the northern side at the gate of Vesuvius. It 

* Pomp, Ant. Hist. t. i. p. 38. 

f A venereum was that part of a house appropriated to the female 
membei’s of a family. 

X The meaning of pergulce is not clearly ascertained. It probably denotes 
some kind of open workshop. 


70 


POMPEII. 


lias been cleared to the point where it intersects the Streets 
of Fortune and of Nola, which, with the Street of the Baths, 
traverse the city in its length. The Street of Stabile forms 
the boundary of the excavations ; all that part of Pompeii 
which lies to the east of it, with the exception of the am¬ 
phitheatre, and the line forming the Street of Nola, being 
still occupied by vineyards and cultivated fields. On the 
other hand, that part of the city lying to the west of it has 
been for the most part disinterred ; though there are still 
some portions lying to the south and west of the Street of 
Abundance and the Forum, and to the east of the Vico Storto, 
which remain to be excavated. 

The streets of Pompeii are paved with large irregular pieces 
of lava joined neatly together, in which the chariot wheels 
have worn ruts, still discernible ; in some places they are an 
inch and a half deep, and in the narrow streets follow one 
track ; where the streets are wider, the ruts are more nume¬ 
rous and irregular, as showm in the annexed illustration, 
presenting a fac-similc of the pavement. In those places 



where several pieces of lava met in one point, and where, in 
process of time, a hole was made, the ancients have repaired 
the injury with pieces of iron, which still remain in the 
angles. This method has generally been adojDted throughout 
the city. The width of the streets varies from eight or nine 








POSITION OF POMPEII. 


71 


feet to about twenty-two, including the footpaths or trottoirs. 
In many places they are so narrow that they may be crossed 
at one stride : where they are wider, a raised stepping-stone, 
and sometimes two or three, have been placed in the centre of 
the crossing. These stones, though in the middle of the carriage 
way, did not much inconvenience those who drove about in 
the biga, or two-horsed chariot, as the wheels passed freely 
in the spaces left, while the horses, being loosely harnessed, 
might either have stepped over the stones or passed by the 
sides. The kerb-stones are elevated from one foot to eighteen 



Plan of the stepping-stone 
in the narrow street. 


Biga. 


a, Stepping stone; d, Kerb. 


inches,. and separate the foot-pavement from the road. 
Throughout the city there is hardly a street unfurnished 
\vith this convenience. Where there is width to admit of a 
broad foot-path, the interval between the curb and the line 
of building is filled up with earth, which has then been 
covered over with stucco, and sometimes with a coarse mosaic 
of brickwork. Here and there traces of this sort of pave¬ 
ment still remain, especially in those streets which were 
j)rotected by porticoes. 

The area of the Forum or principal square was not paved 
like the streets, but was covered with large regular slabs of 
marble. These were joined together and laid with great 
accuracy; but they appear to have been stripped oft* in 
ancient times, and only a little remains of them on the east 
side, near the temple of Jupiter. 

Before describing the Forum, we will add a few notices witli 
respect to the external appearance of the houses and the 
aspect of the streets. Except in those quarters where the 
public buildings were collected and grouped together, there 




72 


POMPEII. 


can have been nothing striking or magnificent in the appear¬ 
ance of the place. The houses were of small height, and ex¬ 
ternally gloomy; the lower part being usually a blank wall, 
plastered over, and often painted with different colours ; the 
upper pierced with small windows to light the apartments on 
the first floor. Such is the exterior of which we now give a 
portion: it is taken from the house known by the name of 
the House of the Tragic Poet, and represents the outer 
wall, with a small window which lighted a room called the 



One of tbe windows of the House of the Tragic Poet. 


library, opening to the peristyle. The windows (for it 
forms one of a range of windows on the same level) are six 
feet six inehes above the foot-pavement, which is raised one 
foot seven inches above the centre of the street. They are 
small, being searcely three feet high by two. At the side a 
wooden frame is to be observed, in which the window, if the 
aperture were glazed, or if not, a shutter might at pleasure 
be moved backwards and forwards. The lower part of the 












POSITION OF POMPEII 


73 



© 


0 


































































































































































































































































































































































POMPEII. 


74 

wall is occupied by a range of red panels four feet and a half 
high. The tiling upon the wall is modern, and merely in¬ 
tended to preserve it from the action of weather. Our view 
is taken from the alley between this house and the house of 
Pansa. -The alley is only fifteen feet wide, of which space one 
half is occupied by footpaths, leaving but seven feet six 
inches for the carriage-way. Expense and ornament were 
reserved for the interior, on which they were profusely la¬ 
vished : not a house yet found in Pompeii has any pretension 
to architectural merit on the score of its elevation; not a 
house yet found is ornamented with a portico. The villa of 
Diomedes possesses a porch, formed by one detached column 
on each side of the doorway* and this is the only approximation 
to a portico in the place. The annexed view ^p. 73), taken in 
the Street of Mercury, will give a better idea than a • long 
description could of the general appearance of the disinterred 
city.* This is one of the widest streets in the place, and 
the scantiness of its proportions, as compared with the streets 
of modern Europe, may be estimated by comparing the 
breadth of the opening with the height of tlie shattered walls 
on either side. The street is that laid down in the plan as 
the fourth eastward from the Gate of Herculaneum, and does 
not exceed thirty feet in width. The view is taken near the 
city wall, looking southward along the street towards the 
Forum. In the middle distance is the triumphal arch adjoin¬ 
ing the house of Zephyrus and Flora, through which is faintly 
seen the second triumphal arch at the entrance of the Forum. 
The first house on the left, a part of which only is included, 
is that hereafter to be described as the House of the Quaestor, 
otherwise called the House of the Dioscuri, or sons of Jupiter. 
Castor and Pollux. Beyond it are the indications of a cross 
street on each side of the main one. In the distance is 
Mount Lactarius. The name of the street was derived from 
a painting on one ot the houses of Mercury bearing a purse, 
as in the annexed cut. 

The street running from the Temple of Fortune to the 
Forum, called the Street of the Forum, and forming a con- 

* This view,'togethei' with some others which will occur in the coui-se of the 
volume, is copied, by permission of the publishers, from the second series of 
Sir William Cell’s Pompeiana. At present, however, the prospect is somewhat 
altered, owing principally to the disappearance of the trees. 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


75 

tinuation of that of Mercury, has furnished an unusually rich 
harvest of various utensils. A long list of these is given by 
Sir W. Gell, according to which there were found no less 



A marble statue of a laughing faun, two bronze figures of 
Mercury, the one three inches and the other four inches high, 
and a statue of a female nine inches high, were also found, 
together with many bronze lamps and stands. We may add 
vases, basins with handles, paterae, bells, elastic springs, 
hinges, buckles for harness, a lock, an inkstand, and a strigil; 
gold earrings and a silver spoon; an oval cauldron, a sauce¬ 
pan, a mould for pastry, and a weight of alabaster used in 
spinning, with its ivory' axis remaining. The catalogue 
finishes with a leaden weight, forty-nine lamps of common 
clay ornamented with masks and animals, forty-five lamps 
for two wicks, three boxes with a slit to keep money in, in 
one of which were found thirteen coins of Titus, Yespasian, 










76 


POMPEII. 


and Domitian. Among the most curious things discovered, 
were seven glazed plates found packed in straw. There were 
also seventeen unvarnished vases of terra-cotta and seven clay 
dishes, and a large pestle and mortar. The scales and steel¬ 
yard which we have given are said to have been found at the 



same time. On the beam of the steelyard are Eoman nume¬ 
rals from X. to XXXX.; a V was placed for division between 
each X.; smaller divisions are also marked. The inscrip¬ 
tion is 

IMP. VESP. AVG. IIX. 

T. IMP. AVG. F. VI. C. 

EXACTA. IN. CAPITO. 

which is translated thus :—“ In the eighth consulate of 
Vespasian Emperor Augustus, and in the sixth of Titus, 
Emperor and son of Augustus. Proved in the Capitol.” This 
shows the great care taken to enforce a strict uniformity in 
the weights and measures used throughout the empire; the 
date corresponds with the year 77 of our era, only two years 
previous to the great eruption. The steelyard found was also 
furnished with chains and hooks, and with numbers up to 







POSITION OF POMPEII. 


77 


XXX. Another pair of scales (p. 78) had two cups, with a 
weight on the side opposite to the material weighed, to mark 

. 'I 

t 



steelyard, called Trutina Campana, with part of the beam and inscription on a 
• larger scale. 

more accurately the fractional weight; this weight was 
called by the ancients Kai/wv, ligula, and examen. 

























78 


POMPEII. 


Gell tells us that the skeleton of a Pompeian was found 
here, “ who apparently, for the sake of sixty coins, a small 
plate and a saucepan of silver, had remained in his house till 
the street was already half filled with volcanic matter.” He 
was found as if in the act of escaping from his window. Two 
others were found in the same street. 



One of the broadest and most regularly built streets in 
Pompeii is that called the Street of Abundance or of the 
Silversmiths, from articles of jewellery having been found in 
some of the shops. These are constructed of masonry, neatly 
executed, and ornamented with elegant pilasters. Pilasters 
also flank the doorways. The style of domestic architecture 
observable in this street is purely Grecian. The entablature 









POSITION OF POMPEII. 


70 


is adorned with dentils, or small oblong blocks, placed at in¬ 
tervals on a horizontal line immediately under the cornice: 
these dentils were formed originally by the projecting beams 
which supported the roof and floor of any building. The 
most singular part of the construction of the houses in this 
street arises from the courses of masonry and the mouldings 
being inclined with the very gentle slope of the street. This 
singularity has hitherto escaped the notice of the numerous 
writers on the antiquities of Pompeii. This method appears 
to have been adopted to avoid breaking the horizontal lines 
of the architecture, and thus ruining the uniformity of the 
street. The inclination of the ground fortunately is very 
slight, or the expedient, which is we believe unique, could 
not have been adopted. The carriage-way up to the Forum 
is interrupted by the platform under the colonnade being 
raised one step. The street was supplied with water from 
two fountains, a luxury so common in Pompeii that there is 
hardly a street without one. They were generally ornamented, 
and kept constantly supplied from a large reservoir placed 
near them. One of these fountains, ornamented with the 
figure of Plenty, with the cornucopia, has caused the street 
to be called the Street of Abundance. In the passage of one 
of the houses in this street there was a coarsely executed 
painting of the twelve principal gods and goddesses, and 
also a representation of what may be presumed to be Pluto, 
drawn with black colour on the wall by some indifierent 
artist; this latter is not unlike the modern vulgar notion of 
the devil, a fierce black-looking fellow, with horns and cloven 
feet. The names of the owners are written on their houses. 
One, belonging to Vettius, has the following inscription, 

\ L ( JVO .1^ 

xtwm-fxiKinx.'ca'QiKioKiAiMTfls 

KrWMX.S-VtNXTlO-fr-yaX-tWNT 

VEinVKl-Xlft 

Fac-simile inscription on the walls. 

painted over another still older and illegible, in the peculiar 
careless character then in use. The upper line is part of the 


POMPEII. 


80 

older inscription. They were usually done in hlacK or red, 
some were merely scratched on the wall. The album of the 
Latins (AcvKw/xa of the Greeks) is often to be met 'Gth on 
the external walls of the houses of Pompeii, exactly as buidas 
describes it; that is to say, a piece of the wall whitened, in 
order to receive inscriptions. Sometimes the taste of the 
inscriber led him to enclose this album or whitened wall 
, with a border, in the form of the ancient tabellum or tablet 
used to write on. One of these inscriptions runs thus :— 

MARCUM. CERKINIUM. VATIAM. iEDILEM. ORAT. UT. FAVEAT. 

SCRIBA. ISSUS: DIG>:US. EsT. 


r- 

jMUMr. 

Fac-simile li scription. 


Which may be translated—“ The scribe Issus beseeches 
Marcus Cerrinius Vatia, the JFAile, to patronize him: he is 
deserving.’ * Faventinus, most probably another scribe patro- 



* It has lately been discove.ed, trom some specimens written in full, that 
the letteis OF, or OVF, mean orat vos facialis. The translation therefore is: 
“ The scribe Issus beseeches you to make M. C. Vatia sedile: he is deserving.” 
Overbeck, B. ii. S. 94 ff. Ed. 












POSITION OF POMPEII. 81 

nlsod by the same ^dile, gives a portrait of .himself with his 
pen behind his ear. At the fimthest end of this street was 
discovered a skeleton, supposed to have been that of a priest of 
Isis. It was covered with pumice-stones, and other volcanic 
matter. In the hand * was a bag of coarse linen, not en¬ 
tirely destroyed, containing three hundred and sixty silver 
coins, forty-two of copper, and six of gold; and near him 
several figures belonging to the worship of Isis, small silver 
forks, cups, patersB in gold and silver, a cameo representing 
a satyr striking a tambourine, rings set with stones, and vases 
of copper and bronze. 

The general narrowness of the streets, however repugnant 
to our notions of beauty, comfort, and salubrity, is by no 
means peculiarly the reproach of Pompeii, but common to the 
Italian cities of the age in which it perished. Nor, indeed, 
was that narrowness generally considered a blemish; for 
when Eome was burnt during the reign of Nero, and the 
emperor caused it to be rebuilt with more ample streets, 
persons were not wanting to say that “ the ancient form of 
the city was more healthy, because the narrowness of the 
streets and height of the houses afforded little access to the 
sun’s rays; henceforward the extent of opening, unprotected 
by shade, would burn with more distressing heat.”f Similar 
croakers probably were not wanting to complain of the 
changes in building introduced after the fire of London; 
though our northern climate does not offer such plausible 
objections to the free admission of light and air as were to 
be derived from the torrid sun of Italy. At Pompeii several 
streets were not broad enough to allow two chariots to pass, 
small as they were, and not exceeding four feet in width. 
Wheel carriages indeed we conjecture to have been little 
used, except for purposes of traffic, from two circumstances : 
first, that when Mazois published his work in 1824, only two 
stables had been found, J and those, he says, seem meant for 
mules or asses rather than horses; and we know that the 
former animals were employed to turn corn-mills : secondly, 
that the whole arrangement of the pavement seems meant for 
the accommodation of foot-passengers. This inference is 
especially supported by the numerous stepping-stones placed 

* The hand, with the cloth, is now in tlie Museum at Naples. 

t Tacit. Ann, xv 43. | Mazois part ii. p. 36. 

G 


82 


POMPEII. 


iu tlie centre of streets, to facilitate crossing from one raised 
footpath to the other f a convenience of no small importance 
where there were no sunk gutters, and where, during the 
heavy winter rains, the carriage-way of those streets, w’hich, 
according to the drainage of the ground, carried off the waters 
of three or four others, must have flowed like a torrent or a 
Welsh cross-road. It should be observed that neaidy all the 
streets are straight, and generally intersect one another at 
right angles. The principal exception is the Vico Storto, 
leading from the Street of Fortune to the Street of the 
Augustals. The southernmost portion of the street leading 
from the Gate of Herculaneum is also somew'hat crooked. 

Of the method in which the town was drained, and the 
numberless impurities of civilized life carried off, little is 
known, and it will be a curious subject for the investigation 
of future inquirers. At Kome, as is universally known, there 
were enormous sewers under-running the whole city—into 
which, as into our own sewers, there were openings from the 
streets—works whose grandeur in design and execution, com¬ 
bined with their remote antiquity, has fixed the admiration of 
all ages. Nothing of this description was to be exj)ected in 
a provincial town like Pompeii; but for a long time no 
vestiges of any precautions to prevent the waters from stag¬ 
nating in all the lowest parts of the city, except where they 
could find a passage under the gates, were discovered. At 
last Mazois, having long directed his attention to this point, 
thought, that in the slope of the streets and in the appearance 
of the pavement he perceived some reason to suppose that 
there must have existed sewers to convey rain water without 
the city; and, after much ineffectual search, at length suc¬ 
ceeded iu discovering one, of which he has given a drawing. 
His description is not very precise or satisfactory, and there¬ 
fore, before attempting to explain the view, we will translate 
his words as literally as possible : “ I have here rejnesented 
one of the principal sewers (egouts) of the city. The drain¬ 
age of several streets converging to this point, there were 
opened for it two passages communicating with an aqueduct, 
which after traversing the thickness of the city walls and 
agger, discharged the rain waters from the top of the walla 


See the wooilcLits, p, 71. 



POSITION OF POMPEII. 83 

along the rocks, whence they ran into the sea on the side of 
the port.’ * In the view here given the covered sewer seems, 
from the remains of walls, to lead directly under a house ■ 
but the locality is not specified, and we cannot tell how far 
this spot is from the city walls. The term aqueduct is im¬ 
properly applied, as it is never, we believe, used to signify a 
channel to carry off waste water. That here described must. 


View of a Sewer in tlie city of Pompeii. 

of coui’se, have been below the level of the ground, since the 
water from the street flowed into it. It seems natural to 
suppose that it was a real sewer, not such as those of Tarquin, 
into which a waggon loaded with hay might drive, but con¬ 
structed rather as we construct oitr own, and probably com¬ 
municating with the houses under which it passed. It is 
inconceivable that there should uot have been some such con¬ 
venience to carry off not merely the grosser dirt, but the 
fountain waters so profusely supplied. Several similar emis- 
sories have been observed in different parts of the town, 
passing, as this does, beneath the footway, and probably 
* Mazois, part ii. p. 99. 






8-i 


POMPEII. 


under tlie houses. Mazois mentions having seen, by the side 
of a fountain at one of the entrances to the Forum, a drain 
leading to a sewer below, closed by an iron grate in good pre¬ 
servation.* The mouth of a similar sewer was found at the 
outside of the gate leading to Nola. Mazois seems to ima¬ 
gine that it was merely a channel commencing just within the 
gate, and meant to draw off the rain waters which ran down 
the street before they reached the outside, where the^ descent 
is very steep, and the ascent difficult, even when not impeded 
by a violent rush of water.f 



Manner of carrying the Amphora. 


Throughout the streets numerous signs are to be seen 
upon the shops, indicative of the trades which were pursued 
within ; a trivial circumstance, yet one which, from its very 
insignificance, often catches the attention, and seems an 
earnest to the visitor that he is here in truth to be introduced 
to the usages of private and humble life, not merely led the 
round of theatres, temples, and all the costly monuments of 
public magnificence. The annexed cut, from a terra-cotta 
bas-relief, representing two men carrying an amphora, pro¬ 
bably served as the sign of a wine shop. Another, found 
upon a shop which belonged to the baths, represents a goat, 
and is said, we know not with how much propriety, to have 
denoted that the owner was a milkman. Both these signs 
were made of baked clay, and coloured; and they were 
formed in a mould, which seems a proof of their common 

* ^lazois, part ii. p. 36 f Ibid, part i. p. 53. 


Oi 










POSITION OF POMPEU. 


85 


recurrence, and therefore furnishes some reason to suppose 
that they were emblems of some trade, not merely ensigns 
assumed at the whim of a tradesman. Near the Gate of 
Herculaneum was a large statue of Priapus, supposed to have 
indicated the shop of an amulet maker. The protcctiug 
care which that deity exercised, not only over gardens but 
over the human frame, is notorious, and his image was con¬ 
stantly worn as a charm to keep oif the evil eye. The esta¬ 
blishment of a fencing master, or keeper of gladiators, is 



Bas-relief of a Goal over a .Uuk-suwp, 


marked by a rude painting of two persons fighting, while the 
master looks on, holding a laurel crown; this is in the island 
of the baths, opposite the west end of the Forum. In the 
recently discovered Street of the Lupanar an inn was denoted 
by the painted sign of an elephant. The catalogue may be 
closed with a painting of one boy horsed on another’s back, 
undergoing a flagellation 5 an ominous indication to truants 
and idlers that the schoolmaster was at home. 

Fountains were numerous both in the streets and houses of 
Pompeii, but it is not known by what means the city was so 
profusely supplied with water. Being situated on a rock of 
lava, no springs of course could be found, and the inhabit¬ 
ants must have been completely dependent upon supplies 
brought from a distance.* Whence they came is unknown : 

* There is a remarkable exception to this observation in a house adjoining 
the Pantheon, behind the Senaculum, where a well has been sunk through the 
solid rock to a depth of 116 feet. The water is remarkably cold and slightly 
brackish.—Cell. Another well, upwards of 80 feet deep, and still furnishing a 
supply of flesh water, was discovered in 1864, in the house of the dealer in 
iparbles, in the Vico Storto. 
















86 


POMPEII. 


the skirts of Vesuvius, the nearest mountain, were not likely 
to abound in streams, and it seems more likely that they 
were derived from the distant Mount Lactarius, which over¬ 
hung StabijB. 

Traces of aqueducts, however, still remain in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, by which the city may have been supplied from 
the mountains behind Vesuvius. Nothing certain is yet 
ascertained on this subject: the probable means have been 
enumerated by Sir W. Gell. “ The calcareous mountains 
behind Sarno and Palma furnish beautiful and copious 
sources throughout their whole extent. The modern water¬ 
course, which some say exhibits traces of the ancient opus 
reticulatum, is certainly too low for any but the parts of the 
city on the shore (marina), but the great rapidity of its 
current shows that a much higher level might have been pre¬ 
served. There can be no doubt, however, that, setting aside 
the three beautiful springs at the town of Sarno, a third to 
the north of them exists, and there was an aqueduct which 
conveyed the water from the neighbourhood of Palma and 
Sarno, over the plain and by the Ponte Eossi at Naples, to 
Pausilippo, and that another branch ran to Cumae and to 
Baiae, and all the volcanic parts of the country ; and the 
Cav. Carelli will probably give an account of it. Some of 
the arches of the aqueduct may be seen not far from Palma, 
and the place is called Arci, from the ruined arches. This 
is at a much higher level than Sarno, and hence a branch 
ran across the plain, towards Vesuvius and Pompeii, which 
will probably be discovered at a future period, entering the 
gate called that of Vesuvius, at the highest part of Pompeii. 
The Canonico lorio has preserved a remarkable passage, 
written in the year 1560, by Antonio Lettici, who had passed 
four years in examining the subject of the sources near Palma 
and Sarno, for the purpose of forming the modern aqueduct. 
Speaking of the aqueducts at Arci and Torricelli, he says a 
branch ran to the ancient town of Pompeii on a height oppo¬ 
site to the town of Torre della Nunziata, “ et in detto locho 
ne appareno multi vestigii.” He even says that the ancient 
aqueducts might bo repaired.* It is evident, from its nu¬ 
merous fountains, that Pompeii, in proportion to its size, 
must have been amply supplied with water, which was 

* Cell, Appendix to second series. 


POSITION OF POMPEII. 


87 


distributed to its different quarters by conduits, in masonry, 
lead, or baked earthen pipes. Leaden pipes, as we must con¬ 
clude from the number of them found, were almost univer¬ 
sally used to fit up the fountains, which have very little of 
ornament about them, and consist mostly of the head of a 
man or animal, from whose mouth a stream of water pours 
into a basin below. The section of one will give a sufficient 
notion of the construction of all. a a is the feeding pipe ; 



Section of one of the numerous Public Fountains discovered in the Streets of Pompeii. 

6 , the basin which received the water, made of blocks of tra¬ 
vertine cramped together with iron. The projections above 
and below the orifice of the pipe represent rudely the profile 
of a faun’s head with long flowing moustaches and ass’s ears, 
through whose mouth the water issues. This fountain stands 
in front of the colonnade or propylaeum which gives entrance 
to the triangular Forum, and the Greek temple. 

The ancients were acquainted with that hydro statical law 
by which water flowing in a pipe ascends to the level of its 
source; and it appears further, that they were acquainted 


















88 


POMPEII. 


with that extension of the law, by which fluids may be made 
to ascend in a vertical jet to a height proportionate to the 
pressure which acts upon them. Several fountains, which 
appear to have been fitted up with jets d’eau, have been 
found in the houses; and the question, if any doubts were 
entertained, appears to be decided by a picture found ^ in 
Pompeii, representing a broad vase with a jet of water rising 
from the centre. In the original it is surrounded by a rail¬ 
ing, which is omitted here. The background is red, the 
railing and wall beneath it yellow, and the vase and pe- 



Jet d’eau ; from the arabesque paintings of Pompeii. 


destal rise out of a sheet of water. The picture has every 
appearance of representing the interior of an impluvium, 
guarded by a low open railing. 

Annexed is a view of one of the public fountains which 
stands in hiviis, that is, at the point of division between two 
diverging streets not far from the Gate of Herculaneum. 
Behind it is a square building, called by Mazois its castellum, 
or reservoir. There is some difficulty, as it appears to us, 
in acceding to this, for there is a door in the shaded side of 
the building (scarcely visible in our engraving), the bottom 
of which is hardly as high as the orifice of the fountain itself. 
No head of water, therefore, could have been kept here, 
unless we suppose that there was an interior cistern, which 
this outer shell was merely intended to protect. It may 
have been meant for the reception of the calices of private 
pipes, such as we have above spoken of, which must of course 
have been accessible to the superintendent; or to protect 





POSITION OP POMPEII. 


89 


some large cock for opening or closing the main water-pipes, 
like that contained in the Museum at Naples, discovered at 
Capri during the excavations which were made in the palace 
of Tiberius. Time having firmly cemented the parts to¬ 
gether, the water in its cavity has remained hermetically 
sealed during seventeen or eighteen centuries. Travellers 



are shown this curious piece of antiquity, which being lifted 
and shaken by two men, the splashing sound of the contained 
fluid is distinctly heard. There is nothing at all remarkable 
in the fountain just described, which consists, as usual, of a 
pipe spouting into a square trough : the mask, if ever there 
were any, is gone. 











90 


POMPEII. 


Tlio figures on tlie castellum are a painting, now entirely 
effaced, representing a sacrifice to the Lares Compitales, the 
deities of the highways : beneath it is a small altar dedicated 
to them. These little gods were the sons of Lara, who was 
sent down to the infernal regions for having made too free a 
use of her tongue, and of Mercury, who was appointed her 
conductor. They loitered on the road, and Lara bore twins, 
who,' as a natural consequence of the circumstances to which 
they owed their birth, and of their father’s vocation, became 
the guardians of roads. Being only two at first, they multi¬ 
plied with singular rapidity. Cross roads, ships, public build¬ 
ings, were all placed under the superintendence of a peculiar 
tribe; and they obtained the names marini, publici, fami- 
liares, compitales, &c., according to the class of objects of 
whicl^ they severally took charge. Augustus re-established 
their worship after it had fallen into disuse, and ordered 
that twice a year their images should be crowned with flowers, 
and adorned with garlands, and fruits offered on their altars. 
The painting on the castellum represents this ceremony. 
They were often represented under the form of serpents.* 
and the paintings which so frequently recur in Pompeii 
of large serpents, usually in the act of tasting offerings placed 
on a low altar, and often with a projecting brick or small 
shelf before them, to receive fruit or a lighted lamp, are in 
honour of the Lares, and were supposed to sanctify the spot 
and secure it from pollution. 

* ^lercury himself presided over I'oads, wlience he was called aho; ; and the 
remarkable statutes terminating in a square trunk, erected as a sort of tutelary 
gods in the streets, which played so remarkable a part m the Peloponnesian 
war, were after him named Hermse. 



Bronze cock found in the island of Capri. 





CHAPTEE lY. 


OIIIGIN AND USE OP FORUM.-ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION 

OF BUILDINGS.-DESCRIPTION OF FORUM OF POMPEII AND 

ITS TEMPLES. 

In describing a Eoman city, onr attention is first drawn to 
the Eorum, the focus of business, tlie resort of pleasure, 
the scene of all political and legal contention. In tbe early 
ages of Eome one open space probably served for all tlie 
public meetings of the people, whether for the purposes of 
trafSc, for the administration of justice, or for meetings to 
deliberate upon public affairs. So in Greek, the same word. 
Agora, derived from ageiro^ I collect, signifies equally a 
market, a place of assembly for citizens, and the assembly 
itself. As wealth and splendour increased, and business 
became more complicated, it was found inconvenient to have 
so many different occupations carried on together, and two 
classes of fora arose—Venalia, mere markets, as the Forum 
Boarium, or ox-market, Piscarium, fish-market, &c.—and 
Civilia, those devoted to the other purposes of a place of 
assembly, of which, however, until the time of Julius Csesar, 
there was but one at Eome. He built a second of extra¬ 
ordinary splendour, the area alone of which cost the enormous 
sum of 800,000^.,* from which we may imagine the expense and 
splendour of the superstructure; and others were afterwards 
constructed by the Emperors. For the country, however, at 
all events in small places like Pompeii, a single forum con¬ 
tinued to be sufficient. 

Some difference existed between the Greek and Eoman 
fora, derived from the difference of the uses to which they 
were to be applied. The Greek were built square, with 
columns near each other, to give as much shelter as possible. 
On these was placed a marble architrave, supporting an upper 
ambulatory, or gallery for walking. This gallery the Eomans 

* H. S. raillies. Suet. 


92 


POMPEII. 


retained (tliere appears to have been one at Pompeii), but 
the area, instead of being square, was oblong, and the pillars 
set at considerable intervals. These variations seem to have 
been made to give the greatest possible convenience for view¬ 
ing shows of gladiators, which, previous to the building of 
amphitheatres, were exhibited in the Forum. In its simple 
state it was merely an open area, surrounded by a colonnade, 
a sort of exchange; but in the period of Roman splendour it 
was usually encompassed by a series of splendid public build¬ 
ings, on which all the riches of architecture were lavished. 
Basilicas, or courts of justice—curias, or places of assembly 
for the senate or local magistracy—tabularia, where the 
public records were kept—temples, prisons, public granaries, 
all things necessary for the public pleasure or convenience, 
were here collected in immediate neighbourhood to one 
another. Various trades were exercised under the porticoes ; 
the money-changers had their stalls below ; the management 
of the public revenue was usually carried on in the gallery 
above. At one end, or in an adjoining basilica, the prastor 
usually administered justice; within were the rostra from 
which orators addressed the people. The liveliness and 
tumult of the scene, where all these employments were 
carried on, may well be imagined. 

It may be convenient, however, and may prevent repetition, 
if, before we enter upon a particular description of the build¬ 
ings which usually composed this quarter of the town, a 
short account be given of the general structure of temples, 
the most important and interesting, unless we except the 
baths, of Roman buildings, together with an explanation of the 
terms employed by Vitruvius in characterizing them. These 
are universally derived from the disposition of the pillars, 
the distinguishing featiu’e in all ancient architecture. Tech¬ 
nical terms appear hard to those who are ignorant of their 
meaning ; but when once understood, they express much in a 
small compass, and unless unreasonably multiplied, convey 
the clearest idea of the object to be described. The body of 
the temple was usually quadi-angular, oblong, and enclosed 
by walls ; this was called cella, the cell. It was adorned on 
the exterior with columns, varying in their proportions and 
design, forming porticoes on the front or on the sides, or 
both; and from the number of columns employed, and the 


ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS. 93 


intervals at wliicli they were placed, the building took its 
architectural denomination. A temple was said to be built in 


Pycnostyle . . . ® li ® 
Systyle . . . . 2 . © 

Eustyle. . . . © , 2i . © 
Dlastyle . . . 3 . . © 

Araeostyle. . Q . . 4 . . © 


The five, styles of intercolumnialion 
employed in Temples. 



MONOPTER AL 



H Y P >CTWR AU/ 



Antis, when square columns (antce) were placed at the angles 
and along tlie sides, with two round columns in the front 






































































94 


POMPEII. 


between tlie anta?."^ If built with a detached portico in 
front, consisting of any number of columns, it was termed 
Prostyle ;t if both ends were thus ornamented, it was termed 
Amphiprostyle; if the colonnade extended all round, it 
became Peripteral 4 and Dipteral, when built in the most 
expensive and magnificent shape, when a double range o 
pillars ran all round. A variety of this style was called 
Pseudodipteral,§ in which the porticoes projected as far from 
the cell as in dipteral temples, but the interior range of 
columns was omitted. This was considered an improvement, 
both as giving more room under the portico and being less 
expensive. Another variety consisted merely of a circular 
colonnade, without a cell, but only an altar in the centre, this 
was called Monopteral; in another,]] where the cell w'as re¬ 
quired to be large, the walls were thrown back, so as to fiP 
up the intercolumniations, whence it was called Pseudoperi- 
pteral. The two latter were especially devoted to sacrifices. 
Hyp^thral temples were so named because the cell w'as open 
to the sky. These were usually of the largest and most mag¬ 
nificent description. The type of them given by Vitruvius 
consists of a portico of ten columns at either end ; it is dipte¬ 
ral, and has within the cell a double range of columns, one 
supporting the other, detached from the wall. Folding doors 
opened into it at each end. There was no example of this 
style at Eome.lF It originated probably in the difficulty of 
roofing over so large a space, and of sufficiently lighting the 
interior, windows not being usually admitted in these build¬ 
ings. The religious ceremonies performed in these vast 
temples probably did not require much shelter; and a partial 
shelter was given by the colonnade within the cell, wdiich 
was ceiled and roofed, and probably was added with a view 

* Example, St. Paul’s, Covent Garden. 

f Prostyle, from irp6, before, and cttvKos, a column, with columns in front. 
Amphiprostyle, from ati(f>C, on either side, prostyle at each end. Peripteral, 
wino-ed all round, from irepi, round, and vrepov, a wing. Dipteral, double¬ 
winged, from iSi?, twice. Pseudodipteral, false double-winged, from 
false. Monopteral, nothing but wing, from p-dvos, only. Pseudoperipteral, 
falsely winged. Hypaethral, open to the sky, from vtto, under, and at^pa, a 
serene sky. 

J Examples, the Bourse at Paris, or the circular temple of Vesta at Titoli. 

§ Example, St. Martin in the fields. 

II Vitruv. iv. 7, If Vitruv. iii. 2. 


ARCHITECTURAL CJiASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS. 95 

to this convenience. The building at Pompeii called the 
Temple of Jupiter, may be conjectured, from its interior 
colonnade, to have been hypaethral. 

Buildings were further classified with regard to the inter- 
columniations, or space from one column to another. They 
were called Pycnostyle * when the columns were placed in the 
closest order practised, that is, when one and a half diameters 
apart; Systyle, when two diameters apart; Eustyle, when 
two and a quarter diameters apart; Diastyle, when three 
diameters apart; and Arasostyle when the interval was 
greater than this, \itruvius objects to the Systyle arrange¬ 
ment as inconvenient, “because, when matrons going with 
their families to the temple have ascended the steps, they 
cannot pass arm in Ai*m between the pillars without going 
sideways.” This objection holds good against the temples of 
Pompeii, which for the most part are on a small scale. In 
the diastyle he thinks that the pillars are too far apart, and 
that in consequence the stability of the entablature is en¬ 
dangered. The reader is aware that in Grecian architecture 
the arch was not used, neither were the ancients acquainted 
with the means employed by our own architects to cramp 
together separate stones into one solid body. Blocks there¬ 
fore were required of sufficient size to stretch from the centre 
of one column to that of the next; and these, where the inter¬ 
val was large and the material tender, were subject to break 
even under their own weight, much more with that of the 
entablature added. In the Araeostyle neither stone nor 
marble architraves could be used, but beams of timber rested 
on the columns. Buildings of this description, he says, are 
low and heavy, and the architraves ornamented with pottery 
or brazen mouldings. The portico surrounding the Forum at 
Pompeii was of this description. The Eustyle was, as its 
name imports, the most perfect, uniting convenience, beauty, 
and strength. In this the central intercolumniation in front 
of the temple was of three diameters, displaying to more 
advantage the door of the cella, with its ornaments, and 
affording a more ample space for ingress and egress. 

* Pycnostyle, close-columned, from itvkvos, close, and otvXos, a column. 
Systyle, near-columned, from avv, together. Eustyle, well-columned, from 
a, well. Diastyle, open-columned, from Sta, apart. Araeostyle, thinly- 
oolumned, from apatds, scatteied. 


96 


POMPEII. 


“ An essential feature in the temples of Pompeii, as dis¬ 
tinguished from those of Greece, is to be observed in the 
podium,* or basement, on which they were elevated. In the 
religious edifices of an early age no such character appears. 
They were placed upon two or three steps only, if steps they 
should be termed, when evidently not proportioned for con¬ 
venience of access to the interior, but calculated rather with 
a view to the general effect of the whole structure, f By 
thus raising the floor to a level with or above the eye, the 
whole order, from the stylobate, or continuous platform on 
which the columns rest, to the roof, was brought at once 
into view. The steps, Vitruvius says, should be of an odd 
number, that the right foot, being planted on the first step, 
may also first be placed on the pavement of the temple. To 
enter with the left foot foremost was considered unlucky. 
With regard to the proportions of the interior within the 
porticoes, the breadth is directed to be half the length, and 
the cell to be a fourth part more in length than in breadth. 
The building is directed to stand east and west, like our 
churches, and the statue of the presiding deity to be elevated 
above the altar, that the suppliants and priests might decently 
look up to the object of their worship. Thus an hypaethral 
temple would present a most splendid scene ; the worshippers 
addressing their vows, the image apparently rising to behold 
them, and the building itself boldly projected on the eastern 
sky. It will be recollected that these are merely the rules 
laid down by Vitruvius; it does not follow that they were 
always observed. 

We now proceed to describe the Forum Civile of Pompeii, 
of which the annexed plate contains a ground-plan, restored 
from the remains now existing. An examination of this will 
afford a correct idea of the arrangement of the several edifices. 

Upon entering, the spectator finds himself in a large area, 
about 524 feet long and 140 broad, including the porticoes, 
surrounded by columns and the ruins of temples, triumphal 
arches, and other public buildings, the particular uses of 
which can in general only be conjectured. The red masses 
of brick divested of their marble casings, the brown and 
yellow tints of the tufa, the fragments of white stucco 


* Diminutive of ttou?, the f*)ot. 


t Cell, p. 227. 


DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 


97 




attached to the shattered walls of the different edifices, and 
the pedestals, which once supported statues commemorating 
those who had deserved well of their country, are all that 
now remain to attest its former beauty and magnificence. 

Around the west, south, and east sides there runs a Grecian 
Doric colonnade, uninterrupted, except on the east, where the 
porticoes of the surrounding buildings in some instances come 
flush up to the colonnade, and in some places break the line 
of the upper gallery, preserving an uninterrupted communi¬ 
cation below. Where this was the case stairs ran up to the 
gallery; but probably there was also some communication 
between these several divisions of it without descending to 
the ground. True it is, that as no vestige of this upper story 
remains, it may seem rash to assert its existence so boldly; 
but the traces of staircases, combined with the authority of 
Vitruvius, are sufficient to warrant us in doing so. Probably 
it was built of wood; this would account for its total dis¬ 
appearance. The diameter of the columns was two feet three 
and a half inches, their height twelve feet, the interval be¬ 
tween them six feet ten inches. On the eastern side there 
still remains a portion of an older arcade, which the inhabit¬ 
ants, at the time of the eruption, were in the course of replac¬ 
ing by the Doric portico. The pillars are of three materials; 
of fine white caserta stone, resembling marble; of ancient 
yellowish tufa; and of brick plastered. 

An opinion, which seems very probable, is advanced by 
Overbeck,* that the Forum is of a later date than the rest of 
the city, and posterior, at all events, to the Eoman colonisa¬ 
tion, if not to the earthquake in a.d. 63. The grounds for 
this opinion are, that two small streets on the eastern side of 
the Forum, namely, that between the Temple of Augustus 
and the Senaculum, and that between the Temple of Mercury 
and the Chalcidicum, have been blocked up and converted 
into culs de sac by the encroachment of these buildings; 
which shows the last to have been of more recent date than 
the streets. Another reason is, that the whole plan and dispo¬ 
sition of the Forum is in conformity with the Eoman practice 
as laid down in the rules of Vitruvius. We may perhaps add 
that the materials of which the Forum is constructed, such as 

* Pomp. B. i. S. 68. 

H 


98 


POMPEII. 


the brick pillars and walls covered with coats of stucco or 
marble, bespeak a much more recent date, than, for instance, 
the Greek temple in the triangular Forum, with its massive 
columns of solid stone, of a much earlier and purer style. 

Projecting itself on the area of the Forum on the north, 
stands a building generally called the Temple of Jupiter. It 
is prostyle, and of the Corinthian order: the columns are 
pycnostyle, and the portico is pseudo-dipteral and hexastyle, 
or having six columns in the front. A row of columns runs 
on each side along the interior of the cella, which, as has 
been observed, leads us to suppose that it'was hyptethral. It 
is probable that there were two ranges of columns within the 
cella, one above another, as at Passtum, the floor of a gallery 
resting on the lower tier, since the height of the exterior was 
such as to require two orders in the interior (where the 
columns were smaller) to reach the roof, the object of the 
columns being support, and not mere decoration. A narrow 
staircase at the back of the temple, concealed behind three 
small chambers at the end of the cella, the walls of which 
rise to the height of the first order of columns, confirms the 
belief that there was formerly a gallery. The clear space of 
the cell, within these chambers and the colonnade, was about 
forty-two feet by twenty-eight feet six inches. The interior 
has been painted; red and black are the predominant colours. 
Diamond-shaped pieces of marble form the centre division of 
the pavement, which is enclosed within a broad border of 
black and white mosaic. In the centre of the door-sill there 
are traces of holes for the bolts of folding doors. Upon the 
pavement fragments of a colossal statue were discovered. 
This temple is placed on an elevated basement or podium, 
which was ascended by many steps. Those nearest the 
columns are carried along the whole front of the portico, 
while the steps near the gTound are narrow, and sunk in a 
low parapet forming a basement to the upper flight. Greater 
breadth of effect and grandeur is communicated to the whole 
edifice by this mass of solid wall beneath the large columns 
which it seems to support. A magnificent example of this 
method of construction is to be seen in the portico of the 
London University. The dye* of the basement inclines 

* The dye is that part of the basement which is placed between the under 
and upper moulding of the whole; it is generally a plain surface. 


eievatjon of the bu»loing^ in the forum restored 



Houses Eicavatei^ 
by G«n'. Cha,mpton«t 


SCHOOL 


I oi pi u via. 

Pedestai& For Statues. 

Inclosure m the Pantheon with the 
Tables For the sale of Provisions. 
Arcli leading into the Court 
of the Cl anary t Prison 
Corn t Wine Measures 
The dotted lines m the Elevations 
shew the suppqsed Upper Callery- 


n the Houses 




, 



[ jg^ll _. 1 " 


A 

J 



>y B ClaWkE AKCm RtS'i 


T L A M 


® iT T Kl E 


F '£) y Kfti 


T. BRAOtEV 


ELEVATION OF THE BUILDINGS IN THE FORUM RESTORED 





















































































































































































































S 94 




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DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 


99 


inwards; it is moulded above and below, and in front formed 
into pedestals, which are oblong, and adapted to receive 
equestrian statues. Near one of them a sun-dial was found. 
Pedestals were also added in front at the angles of the base¬ 
ment of the portico. On the south-east a side door in the 
basement leads to vaults beneath the temple. The whole of 
the building, constructed as it is of stone and lava, has been 
covered with a fine white cement made of marble, still retain¬ 
ing great hardness. The workmanship does not appear to be 
very good or exact. The columns and the spaces between 
them vary, none of them being equidistant. The diameters 
of the columns are three feet seven inches and three feet 
eight inches, making their height, according to the propor¬ 
tions observed, approach to thirty-six feet, about the size of 
the lower order of St. Paul’s cathedral, so that the whole 
height of the building was, including the basement, about 
sixty feet. Without the walls its breadth was forty-three 
feet, and its length a hundred to the end of the portico. Add 
twenty feet for the flights of steps, and the total length is one 
hundred and twenty feet.* 

Adjoining the south-western end of the basement stand the 
ruins of an arch, built of brick, and cased with slabs of white 
marble, fastened on the brickwork by iron cramps. This 
arch, which is seen on the left of the Temple of Jupiter 
given in the view of the Forum, is by some conjectured 
to have been triumphal; but from its being connected with 
the temple by a low wall reaching to the height of the ad¬ 
joining basement, it is more probable that it was only the 
entrance to a court in front of what may have been the 
public granaries. This wall evidently proves that the whole 
was constructed, not for show, but use. Had the arch been 


* It is the opinion of Overbeck {Pomp. B. i. S. 90, 92) that the temple was 
dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, as a trinity presiding, like the Capi- 
toline deities at Rome, over the safety of the city. But though, from its situ¬ 
ation, the temple was no doubt dedicated to a principal deity, yet its narrow 
oblong form forbids the idea that there would have been room for the statues 
of three gods. The same author rejects the opinion that the temple was hypae- 
thral. He also questions the discovery of a colossal head of Jupiter; which, 
however, is recorded in the Journal of the Excavations, January 21st, 1817 
{Pomp. Ant. Hist. t. i. fasc. iii., p. 190). It should have been stated that the 
extensive favissce, or cellars, under the temple are lighted by several openings 
in the floor. 


100 


POMPEII. 


triumphal, it would have been more solidly built, isolated, and 
not disfigured by a small piece of wall attached to one side 
only, disfiguring also the basement of the most commanding 
building in the city. It may be presumed, therefore, to 
have formed the entrance to a court-yard before the granary 
and prisons, which are here situated at the north-west corner 
of the Forum; such a convenience being almost necessary 
to the former, for the unloading the grain apart from the 
crowd in the Forum ; and to the latter, as an outlet where 
prisoners, it may be supposed, were allowed to take exercise 
under the eyes of their guards. That the prison stood here 
there can be no doubt ;* indeed its exact spot is determined 
by the skeletons of two men, left to perish in the general con¬ 
fusion. Their leg-bones were found still within the shackles. 
With regard to the other apartment, there certainly is not such 
convincing evidence to prove that it was the public granary. 
It is well suited to such a purpose, but the strongest evidence 
of its destination is to be found in the immediate neighbourhood 
of the public measures. We may further observe, with regard 
to the arch, that it is not sufficiently substantial for the pur¬ 
pose which is assigned to it, nor would the plane siu*face on 
the top be broad enough either for an equestrian statue or a 
triumphal car. But attached to the north-east angle of the 
Temple of Jupiter there is a gateway, having the character of 
a triumphal arch. The massive piers and part of the columns 
that adorned them still remain. In each pier were two attached 
fluted Corinthian white marble columns, of good workman¬ 
ship. In the centre of each pier, between the columns, are 
square-headed niches, in one of which there was a fountain, 
as is evident from the lead pipes which were here discovered. 
Statues most probably were placed in the four niches, and 
the fountain formed in one of them may have flowed through 
a cornucopia, or some other appropriate vessel held in the 
hands of the figure.l Statues applied to these purposes 
were commonly placed at the fountains in Pompeii. Among 
others have been found two boys of beautiful workmanship, 

* Vide Donaldson’s Pompeii. 

t The nichps are deeper on the outer side of the arch, or that facing the 
.Street of Mercury, than on the side facing the Forum, and it is the former 
that must have contained the fountains. The others could only have held 
statues 


DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 


101 


carrying vases on their shoulders, and two others with masks 
in their hands, the masks and vases resting on pedestals. 
Water was conveyed up through the figures, and issued from 




Bronze figures to ornament fountains. 
















102 


POMPEII. 


tlie masks and vases. Conduits of lead were frequently used 
in Pompeii to conduct tlie water to the public fountains and 
private baths. These, however, the late Neapolitan govern¬ 
ment caused to be torn up, and sold for their value as old 
metal. 

The arch from which this digression has led us, had witli- 
out doubt an attic or low wall above the cornice, on which 
was placed either an equestrian statue or a car, the appro¬ 
priate finish to such a structure. That either one or the other 
did surmount the attic, may be inferred from the fragments 
of a bronze statue of a man, and part of the legs of a horse 
of the same metal, having been found in the immediate 
vicinity. The arch is built of bricks and lava, and has been 
covered with thin slabs of marble, a method of construction 
in use among the ancients ; and, from a principle of economy, 
much practised, not only in Pompeii, but even in Eome, 
where the brick walls, despoiled of their costly coatings, 
alone remain. Presuming that the Forum was closed for 
security, the opening of this arch must have had gates; 
these, however, no longer exist. Possibly they were of wood, 
or if of bronze, they may have been carried away by the 
Pompeians. An additional proof that the Forum was shut 
up at night is to be found in the small pier attached to the 
north-west angle of the areh, evidently built to receive the 
iron or wood-work of a gate closing the foot-entrance by its 
side. Had it not been necessary to close the Forum, this 
small pier would have been useless, and the deformity of it 
would have been avoided. This arch may be considered the 
principal entrance to the Fo'^um, and, as such, was doubtless 
chosen for the site of a puldic monument. It was the only 
entrance for carriages; the foot entrance is formed by another 
arch to the right, or east of that already described. This 
arch is of the same height as the other, but stands on a some¬ 
what higher level. It formed the entranee just mentioned, for 
foot-passengers only, into the east side of the portico which 
surrounds the Forum. The top of the arch has fallen in. On 
the triumphal arch near the baths was placed an equestrian 
figure of the size of life, the fragments of which were found 
during the excavations in 1823. The figure of the man is 
perfect, with the exception of the left leg and foot, but of the 
horse, only the tail and one of the forelegs without the foot 


DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 


108 


were found. The action of the statue, which is supposed 
to represent Nero, resembles that of M. Aurelius in the 
Campidoglio at Rome, but it is of very inferior workmanship. 
Here was also found a skeleton, with seventy-four small 
silver coins.* 

The buildings hitherto described, with the exception of the 
granary and prisons, form the north side of the Forum. We 
will now take those on the east side, and, describing them 
and their probable uses in the order of their succession, pro¬ 
ceed along the south and west sides back to the granary. 
Adjoining the pedestrian entrance, already mentioned, at the 
nortli-eastern angle of the Forum, stands an edifice called the 
Pantheon ,j‘ from twelve pedestals placed in a circle round an 
altar in the centre of its area, which are supposed to have 
supported the statues of the Dii Consentes, or Magni, the 
aristocracy of Italian mythology. The area, one hundred and 
twenty by ninety feet, is bounded by the back walls of shops 
on the north and west sides ; by the^Edicula (a small temple 
or shrine), raised to the founder or patron, and two inclosures 
on the east; and by the eleven cells supposed to belong to 
the fraternity of priests on the south. Within, perhaps, a 
rectangular portico or gallery inclosed the twelve pedestals, 
or they may have been covered with a wooden temple, in the 
light style of architecture depicted on the walls of Pompeii. 
No traces however remain of such constructions. In front of 
this building, under the portico of the Forum, are seven shops, 
possibly the TabernaB Argentarise, or shops of money-changers; 
the pedestals of some of the tables still remain. In one of 
these shops 1128 silver and copper coins were found in the 
remains of a chest. The entrance to the Pantheon is by a 
small vestibule in the centre of the area. There are four 
pedestals in front of it, and one at the end of each party wall 
between the shops. They probably were meant to receive 
columns. At the end of the shops was a staircase, which may 
have led to the upper ambulatories. 

In the centre of the vestibule stood a small altar, which 
still remains, with doors opening on each side into the area 
beyond. Behind the altar was a niche, on which the statue 
of some one of the gods was placed, so that the devout Roman 

* Fiorelli, Pomp. Antiq. Hist., t. ii. p. 86, ct seq. 

t Or, with more probability, the Temple of Augustus. 


104 


POMPEII. 


had an opportunity of leaving his offering as he entered, and 
propitiating the presiding deity. On the right side, as you 
enter, are arranged the cells already mentioned; over these 
were other apartments, as the holes in the side walls for the 
reception of joists indicate. There are also holes in the 
piers in front of these cells for the joists and floor of a gal¬ 
lery which gave access to the upper apartments, as in the old 
inns still existing in London and elsewhere. The staircase 
has been entirely destroyed, so that its site cannot be ascer¬ 
tained ; it is, however, most natural to suppose it near the 
vestibule. There were other entrances ; one in the centre of 
the north side, and another at the end of the cells, both lead¬ 
ing into streets without the Forum. The further end of this 
building was divided into three compartments. That in the 
centre was an aedicula, containing niches, in which were 
statues of Livia, the wife of Augustus, and Drusus. In the 
side wall opposite to these must have stood the statues of two 
other members of the imperial family in corresponding 
niches. The principal statue stood on a large marble base, 
or pedestal, facing the entrance. The only remains of it 
found was an arm holding a globe; whence it seems reason¬ 
able to conclude that it belonged to a statue of Augustus. 
The conjecture of Overbeck,* that it might have been part of 
a statue of Jupiter, is improbable. There would hardly have 
been two large temples to that deity close together, nor is it 
likely that he w^ould have been placed in such company. 
The statues extant were carried to the Neapolitan Museum 
and replaced by casts. That of Livia is one of the most 
remarkable found at Pompeii, especially for the execution of 
the drapery, but unfortunately it wants the right forearm. 
On the right of the sedicula, a door-way between two columns 
gave admission, as some have supposed, to a refectory for the 
use of the priests, or a place for the sale of such provisions 
as they had reserved from the sacrifice. A low platform or 
bench surrounds three sides of the room, which may have 
been meant either for tricliniary couches, or have served as 
a place on which the provisions for sale were exposed.j 

* B. i. S. 116. 

f The Romans, it is well known, reclined at their meals, apparently an in¬ 
convenient fashion, but not so inconvenient to persons who used no knives and 
forks as to us, who require two hands to get our food comfortably to our 


DESCIIIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


105 


Round the inside runs a marble gutter, to carry off the water 
and refuse when the place was cleansed.* On the other side 
of the sedicula an enclosure has been formed with columns on 
the exterior, similar to the entrance of the refectory. Within 
it is a small vaulted aedicula, on a podium ascended by five 
steps, before which stands an altar. This apartment has been 
twice stuccoed and painted, the first design having been re¬ 
placed by a series of arabesques. This style of decoration, 
common to all the public and private buildings of Pompeii, 
has been condemned by Vitruvius; yet, even in defiance of 
his authority, we feel disposed to admire their bold and har¬ 
monious colouring, and the lightness, elegance, and variety 
of their designs. The paintings in this edifice are worthy, 
for their beauty, of especial notice; the various designs are 
well composed, and the colours are as brilliant as when first 
laid on. Among the figures, not the least interesting is (Jne of 
the paintress herself, holding in one hand an oval white 
palette, apparently of silver, in the other, brushes tinged with 
several colours. Her fingers appear to grasp the palette, 
through as many holes perforated in the metal. 

The art of fresco painting is still practised; but the secret 
of employing a medium so durable as to withstand, first fire, 
and afterwards the damp of so many ages, is unknown to the 
moderns. It has been supposed that the medimn employed 
to liquify the pigments used in these paintings was wax 
mixed with oil. Supposing that wax, than which nothing is 
more lasting, were used, it may be imagined that the object 
of a silver or metal palette was to retain so much heat as 
would liquify the menstruum, without being inconvenient to 
the artist. The paintings consist of architectural composi¬ 
tions of long aerial columns, vistas through doorways, show¬ 
ing the ornamented ceilings, an abundant variety of figures 
and borders of flowers, with an almost endless detail of en- 


mouths. Three couches were usually placed in a dining-room, one at each side 
of the table, leaving the fourth open to the servants. Hence the word tricli¬ 
nium, rpei? K\ivai, three beds, which name is given both to the couches and to the 
room. The distance between the sides of this podium, and the opening in the 
east side of it, as represented in the plan, together with the gutter surrounding 
it, make the second account of it more' probable. [The construction of the 
ulatform is not adapted to a triclinium.} 

* Hence some have conjectured that it was a slaughter-house 



106 


POMPEII. 


ricliment, painted for the most part with dazzling colours,- 
among which, bright vermilion, jet black, deep crimson, 
azure blue, and golden yellow, usually form the ground. To 
these are added a variety of mixed tints, more delicate as the 
objects are supposed to recede from the eye. The latter con¬ 
sist principally of light greys, pink, purple, and green. It 
must however be confessed that good taste did not hold ex¬ 
clusive sway in Pompeii; for in that case a proprietor would 
hardly have painted the exterior of his house with chequers 



Painting of a Galley on the walls of the Pantheon. 

resembling the sign of a modern alehouse; or have covered 
the external walls with a decoration similar to the infantine 
amusement of a child, who, for the first time in possession of 
a pair of compasses and a colour-box, proceeds to describe 
circles intersecting each other, and then fills them with a 
coloured patchwork.* Historical subjects are painted in the 
centres of the compartments formed by the arabesques ; one 
of these represents Ulysses in disguise meeting Penelope on 
his return to Ithaca. 

Another theory has been adopted by an ingenious Neapoli¬ 
tan architect. Carlo Bonnucci, with regard to this building. 
The temple at one end he calls the Temple of Augustus, and 
the remainder he sets apart for the banquets of his priests, 
the Augustals ; and he cites Vitruvius as authority for such a 
situation as that chosen.f The numerous inscriptions rela- 

* It has been imagined that the occupier was a Avorker in mosaic, and tliat 
this patchwoi k was a sort of s-gn. 

t The Augustals in the provincial towns Avere of an inferior order to the 
same priests at Rome, and Avere commonly libertini, or freedmen. They AA^ere 
appointed by the Decurions of the ]\Iunicipium. 




DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


107 


tive to these personages discovered at Pompeii would lead us 
to infer that they were of some importance, and from one of 
these they appear to have been six in number. Sir William • 
Gell, following the opinion of Bonnucci, says, “ that the 
Augustals were possessed of funds which supplied them with 
the means of feasting, and inviting their fellow-citizens to 
partake in their banquet, for which purpose the building now 
called Pantheon was so well calculated; that, whether belong¬ 
ing to a particular order, or the common property of all the 
inhabitants of Pompeii, it may be safely considered as a 
place of feasting or carousal under the protection of some 
deity, who, from his more elevated sacellum, was supposed 
to overlook and patronise the banquet. That such was the 
destination of this edifice, and that it differed but little in its 
uses from that which the Greeks called Lesche, and the 
modern Italians a trattoria and coffee-house, seems to be ren¬ 
dered more probable by many of its internal decorations; 
while its proximity to the Forum, the chief resort of the in¬ 
habitants of the city, would point out this situation as the 
most eligible for a place of conversation and refreshment.” 

The destination of the building just described has occa¬ 
sioned more perplexity to antiquarians than that of almost 
any other in Pompeii. The idea that it was a Pantheon is 
now pretty universally rejected. The twelve stone posts in 
the centre are said to be not pedestals for statues, but bases, 
on which rested pillars which supported a circular building; 
while the apartments on the right, or southern side, are not 
twelve in number but only eleven. Some have considered it 
to be a market, some an hosjpitium destined for the reception 
of ambassadors or other distinguished foreigners—of which, 
however, there could have been no great quantity in a third 
rate town like Pompeii—while others have called it a Sera- 
peum. The theory that it was an hospitium is rejected by 
Overheck,* who, however, considered it plausible; and he 
himself adopts, after Pyl, a very similar one, namely, that it 
was a Temple of Vesta and Prytaneum, after the Greek 
fashion. A Greek Prytaneum was to the city what the house 
was to a private family; a place of public entertainment, 
where distinguished and deserving citizens, as well as ambas- 


* Book i. S. 118. 


108 


POMPEII. 


sadors and other foreigners of distinction, were entertained 
at the public expense. For this purpose an ever-burning 
fire was maintained in it, as in the Temple of Vesta; and 
Overbeck thinks that the twelve stone bases, placed in a 
circle in the middle of the area, supported a round building 
in which was an altar dedicated to that goddess. But of all 
the conjectures hazarded concerning the building, we consider 
this to be about one of the most improbable. For, first, 
Frytaneia were only found in the independent and capital 
towns of Greece, and would have been misplaced in a third- 
rate town in Italy like Pompeii, where, as we have already 
observed, there could have been no great influx of distinguished 
foreigners. Again, such an establishment does not appear to 
have been a Roman custom; and Overbeck himself had 
already remarked that the buildings round the Forum are 
certainly subsequent to the Roman occupation, and probably 
belong to a late period of it. Further, if there was any round 
temple in the middle of the area, it must evidently have con¬ 
sisted of wood ; and such a building in so public a place does 
not seem at all in accordance with the Roman notions of the 
worship of Vesta. 

On the other hand there are many reasons for thinking 
that the building in question was destined for the worship of 
Augustus, and for the use of his priests, the collegium of 
Augustals. Many things show that Augustus w^as the object 
of peculiar veneration at Pompeii. His priests, who, as we 
have said, are frequently mentioned in inscriptions, must have 
had a place of meeting worthy of him they worshipped, and 
none can be pointed out more suitable than this building. 
The statues of the imperial family seem to confirm this des¬ 
tination. The paintings on the wall representing combats 
of galleys refer probably to the battle of Actium, while those 
of eatables are in allusion to the feasts given by the Au¬ 
gustals. 

The shops in the street on the north side of the Temple of 
Augustus most probably supplied those who feasted wdth 
dainties; and it has been called the Street of Dried Fruits, 
from the quantity of raisins, figs, plimis, and chesnuts, fruit 
of several sorts preserved in vases of glass, hempseed, and 
lentils. It is now, however, more generally knowm as the 
Street of the Augustals. Scales, monev, moulds for pastry 


DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


109 


and bread, were discovered in the shops; and a bronze statue 
of Fame, small, and delicately executed, having golden brace¬ 
lets round the arms. 



Bread, from a painting on the ^'alls of the Temple of Augustus. 



Bronze pastry mould. 


In the northern entrance to the building the name CELSVM 
is written on a pilaster; near it was found in a box a gold 
ring with an engraved stone set in it,, forty-one silver, and a 





























no 


POMPEII. 


tliousancl and tliirty-six “brass coins. Here also on both sides 
of the walls are representations of Cupids making bread. The 
mill is placed in the centre of the picture, with an ass on each 
side, from which it appears that these animals were used in 
grinding the flour. At the entrance to the south a hatchet is 
23ainted, as necessary for cutting up the meat., and the j)icture 



is filled up with boars’ heads, fish, hams, &c. In other parts 
of the building, above the elegant paintings already men¬ 
tioned, are geese, turkeys, vases of eggs, fowls, lobsters, and 
game ready plucked for cooking, oxen, sheep, fruit in glass 
dishes, a cornucopia, with various amphorae for wine, and many 
other accessories for the banquet. 

In the centre of the court, near the twelve pedestals, is a 
sink, which is said to have been found filled with fish-bones 
and remains of other articles of food. 

The adjoining building has been supposed by some anti¬ 
quaries to have been the place of meeting of the Augustals; 
by others, a temple dedicated to three deities, on account of 
three recesses, apparently for statues, in three sides of the 
building. It may with more probability be considered the 
Senaculum, or place of meeting for the senate, or rather decu- 
rions; its spacious area, eighty-three feet by sixty, adapts it 
well to this purpose, and the niches in the wall may have been 
meant to receive statues of distinguished magistrates. The 
portico of this edifice was composed of fluted white marble 
columns of the Ionic order, its front ranging with the por¬ 
tico of the Forum without interrupting the promenade below. 
There was a staircase at the north end of it, which ^Drobably 
led to the upper gallery, or ambulatory ; and a passage may 
also have been formed over the immediate entrance to the 
Senaculum, communicating with the ambulatory on the other 




t 




































112 


POMPEII. 
















DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


113 

side. The columns of this portico were of course larger and 
loftier than those of the Forum. Within, the pavement of 
the area is raised above the level of the portico. On each 
side, upon entering, are two large recesses, with pedestals 



attached to the centre of the back wall, possibly destined to 
support the effigies of the gods to whom the place was sacred. 
The altar stands in the centre of the area, nearly in front of 
each statue. The building is terminated at the end by a 
semicircular recess, .where there is a raised seat for the chief 
magistrates. At the side of one of the recesses is a chamber 
for records. This building, for convenience, may have been 

I 









114 


POMPEII. 


entirely covered, nnd the light admitted through the portico. 
V/iiether light was also admitted tlirough glass casements in 



the roof or not must remain conjectural; but that the ancients 
were acquainted with the use of glass windows, is sufficiently 


'X'cujple of Mercury. 





































DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


115 


proved by the quantity of flat glass discovered dining the exca¬ 
vations, and also by its having been found ingeniously fitted 
(as will be seen in the sequel) to those rare and minute open¬ 
ings which were dignified with the name and office of windows 
in Pompeii. 

Adjoining to the building last described, within an area of 
fifty-seven feet six inches by fifty feet seven inches, stands 
a sacellum, or small, temple elevated on a basement. It is 
commonly known as the Temple of Mercury, for which 
appellation, however, the only grounds that can be assigned 
are the mention of such a temple in Pompeian inscriptions, 
and the precept of Vitruvius,* that the Temple of Mercury 
should be in the Forum. It is also sometimes called the 
'Temple of Quirinus, though this name rests, perhaps, on 
hardly so good a foundation as the other. It is taken from 
an inscription found in front of the temple recording the deeds 
of Eomulus, and his deification under the name of Quirinus. 
This inscription, however, was not found within the precincts 
of the building, but on the base of a pillar in the colonnfide 
of the Forum ; and as there was a precisely similar one on 
the opposite side relating to ^neas, it is pretty evident that 
they belonged to two statues erected in honour of those per- 
sonages.j Nor is the inscription of the kind that would have 
been placed under the statue of a divinity. The original has 
been removed to the National Museum, and its place is sup¬ 
plied by a copy. It may be remarked that these inscriptions 
to the reputed ancestors of the gens Julia are a further proof 
of the great honour in which Augustus was held at Pompeii. 
The temple is now shut up with a gate or wicket, and serves 
as a place of deposit for various objects found in the excava¬ 
tions, but not deemed worthy of a place in the Museum. 
The temple is approached through a narrow’ covered vesti¬ 
bule, communicating between the court and the Forum. On 
each side of the basement are steps leading to the platform 

* De Ardntect i. 7. 

f These inscriptions will be found in Mommsen, Nos. 2103, 2189. The in¬ 
scription to Romulus, as supplemented by Mommsen, runs as follows:— 
“Romulus Mmtis filius Uibem Romam condidit et regnavit annos duodequad- 
raginta. Isque primus dux duce hostium Acrone rege Caeninensium interfecto, 
spolia opima Jovi Feretrio consecravit, rococtusque in Deorum numerum 
Quirinus appellatus est.” 


116 


POMPEII. 


of the cella; in front of it, in the centre of the court, is an 
altar of white marble bearing an unfinished bas-relief, which 
has been imagined to represent Cicero sacrificing, from a 
supposed resemblance in the principal figure to that great 
orator. The victim is led by the servant (popa), whose office 
it was to take its life, naked to the waist, bearing his sacri¬ 
ficial axe (malleus ); he is clothed round the middle with a 
short cloth, which. does not descend to the knees. The sa- 
crificer appears to be a magistrate; he is crowned with a 
wreath, and his robes partly cover his head. He holds in his 
hand a patera, as if about to sprinkle the victim, and thereby 



cleanse it Irom its impurities before offering it to the gods. 
The popa and an attendant are also crowned with wreaths. 
A boy follows the principal personage, holding in his hands 
a vase and patera, or plate, and having the sacred vitta or 
fillet hanging from his neck; near him is a figure holding a 
patera filled apparently with bread. Another figure appears 
to be sounding the tibia, or double flute, followed by lictors, 
with their fasces. The temple is represented in the back¬ 
ground decorated with garlands. On the eastern and oppo¬ 
site side of the altar is a wreath of oak leaves bound with the 
vitta, having on each side young olive trees sculptured; and 



DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


117 

on the north and south sides are the various implements and 
ornaments of sacrifice, as the vase, the patera, vitta, garlands, 
the incense box, a ladle, and a spiral instrument, the use of 
which is unknown, unless it belonged to the haruspex, who 
inspected the bowels of the victims, and prophesied of the 
future according to the appearances presented to him. En¬ 
riched mouldings decorate both the upper and lower part of 
the altar. The temple, or sacellum, is built of stone, and 
decorated on the outside with pilasters ; its external dimen¬ 
sions are but fifteen feet six inches by thirteen feet eight 
inches, so as not to admit much more than the statue whose 
pedestal still remains. The peribolus, or wall surrounding 



the whole, is constructed of brick, and, as is shown in the 
cut, is divided by pilasters into compartments, in which 
are sunk panels, surmounted at the top by a running orna¬ 
ment consisting of a series of triangles and segments of 
circles placed alternately. This brickwork having never 
been covered with stucco, and the altar beipg unfinished, a 
conjecture has been formed that the Pompeians were dis¬ 
turbed by the eruption of Vesuvius while they were rebuild¬ 
ing this very temple, which had perhaps been destroyed by 
the previous earthquake. Here also, as in almost every 
building destined for religious purposes, were apartments for 
priests, and in them was found a store of amphorae, or large 
earthen vessels in which wine was kept. 

The building next in succession partakes of the nature of 
a basilica, but was probably a sort of exchange. On the 












118 


POMPEII. 


architrave over the side-entrance from the Street of Abun¬ 
dance, which runs nearly at right angles to this side of the 
Forum, is the following inscription, which has been rej^eated 
on large blocks of marble found in the Forum;— 

EUMACHIA. L.F. SACERD. PUBLIC. NOMINE. SUO. ET. 

M. NUMISTRI. FKONTONIS. FILL CHALCIDICUM. 

CRYPTAM. PORTICUS. CONCORDLE.- AUGUSTyE. 

PIETATI. SUA PEQUNIA. FECIT EADEMQUE 
DEDICAVIT. 

We learn from hence that a priestess of the name of 
Eumachia erected at her own expense, and in the name of 
herself and her son, a chalcidicum, a crypt, or walled gal¬ 
lery,* and a portico, and dedicated them to Pietas and Con¬ 
cordia Augusta. The meaning of the two last words is plain 
enough, and the situation of the portico and crypt in the 
building in question can be pointed out with tolerable cer¬ 
tainty, the former being the inner colonnade or peristyle 
surrounding the area of the building, the latter the outer 
gallery adjoining it. But the exact meaning of the word 
chalcidicum has never been satisfactorily ascertained. If we 
adopt the authority of Vitruvius, chalcidica would appear to 
have been apartments annexed to one end of a basilica, to 
diminish its area if of too great a length.j* Those who 
accept this interpretation find the chalcidicum in the por¬ 
tico or hall at the entrance of the building, or more 
probably in the narrow space behind it, in which is the 
statue of Eumachia, cut olf apparently to reduce the build¬ 
ing to a regular form. According to another opinion, the 
name chalcidicum might mean the whole building; and 
this explanation seems to be favoured by a passage in 
Arnobius, where he expresses his desire to see the gods in 
those vast cJialmdica and palaces of heaven.| Nor can we 
easily explain the chalcidicum, recorded in the Monumentum 
Ancyranum to have been erected by Augustus next to the 
Curia at Rome, except on the supposition that it was a sub- 

* A crypto-portico (from kpvtttos, hidden) is a gallery, in which the columns 
on the interior are replaced by walls, merely pierced for windows. 

t Sin autem locus ent amplior in longitudine, Chalcidica in extremis con- 
stituantur. 

X Avet animus atque ardet in chalcidicis illis magnis atque in palatiis coeli 
decs deasque conspicere intectis corporibus. Am. lib. iii. 


DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


119 


stantive building.* That the inscription, after mentioning 
the chalcidicum as a whole, should proceed to enumerate 
some of its parts, is not unprecedented ; since an inscription 
relating to the theatre, besides naming that building, alludes 
to its cryjpta and trihunali'a.^ 

At the bottom of the building is a large semicircular 
recess, behind which, in the crypto-portico, was a statue of 
Eumachia, now replaced by a cast. It is five feet four inches 
in height, and stands on a pedestal placed in a niche in the 
centre of the wall, with this inscription :— 

EUMACHLE. L. F. 

SACERD. FUEL. 

FULLONES 

from which it would appear that the cloth-scourers had, in 
gratitude to Eumachia, erected this statue to her memory. 
The whole structure consists of a large area, about one hun¬ 
dred and thirty feet by sixty-five, surrounded by a double 
gallery, and has in front a pseudo-dipteral portico of eighteen 
columns, elevated on pedestals. Under its centre was the 
great public entrance, which was closed with folding doors, 
turning in sockets of bronze, and secured by bolts shot into 
the holes still remaining in the marble threshold. This 
entrance was flanked by Wo large circular recesses, one on 
each side; and beyond these again, at the extreme end of the 
building, by raised platforms, the staircases to which still 
remain. Hence orators might have harangued an audience 
sheltered under the portico, and edicts relative to commerce 
might have been publicly read. 

The entrance to the area is through a23assage,on each side 
of which are other passages, with a staircase on the right 
leading to galleries above. The entrance to the back of the 
building, where is the statue of Eumachia, is from the Street 
of Abundance, forming the southern boundary of the build¬ 
ing. Here is a small chamber for the doorkeeper, through 
which is seen a flight of steps ascending to the floor of the 
chalcidicum and crypto-portico; the walls on each side of the 
steps are ] 3 ainted in black panels, divided by red jpilasters. 
Under the staircase are the remains of a thermopolium, or 

* See Dver’s Rome, pp. 191 and 198. 

t See OVerbeck, B. i. S. 122, and the inscription in Mommsen, No, 2229. 


120 


POMPEII. 




Section of the urn. 













DESCRIPTION OP TEMPLES. 


121 


shop where warm water and warm decoctions were sold.* A 
curious vessel for making these preparations has ‘been dis¬ 
covered, something like a modern urn, but much more compli¬ 
cated. The annexed figure shows a section of the urn with its 
conical cover: a a is the body of the urn, b, a small cylindri¬ 
cal furnace in the centre ; it has four holes in the bottom, as 
shown in the plan at g, meant to let the ashes fall through 
and to create a draught; c, a vase-shaped mouth, by means of 
which the water was poured in, serving also for the escape of 
steam; d d, a tube which, by means of a cock, served to let 
off the fluid—it is placed thus high to prevent the pipe being 
stopped up by the ingredient decocted ; e, a conical cover, 
the hollow of which is closed by a thin plate somewhat con¬ 
cave ; /, a moveable flat cover, with a hole in the middle, 
which closes the whole urn except the mouth of the small 
furnace; mm, nuts and screws which fasten this moveable 
cover on the rim of the urn; i i, rim, convex on the outside 
and concave within, which, the cover being put on, receives 
into its concavity the rim of the mouth of the furnace. 

The edifice erected by Eumachia had a peristyle or unin¬ 
terrupted colonnade of white marble Corinthian columns, 
admirably executed. Unfortunately, only a small portion 
of one pillar remains; still their plan and disposition are 
exactly determined by the marble stylobate on which they 
were placed. Their total disappearance has been accounted 
for by supposing that the Pompeians themselves, or perhaps 
Alexander Severus, had dug up and carried off these expen¬ 
sive ornaments subsequently to the demolition of their city. 
Behind this peristyle the crypto-portico ran round three sides 
of the building, forming the external boundary on the north, 
south, and east sides. It was lighted by windows placed at 
regular intervals, having marble lintels, to which moveable 
windows were temporarily fixed; but these openings do not 
always front the spaces between the columns of the area. 
The east end must have been darker than the north and south 
sides, from the light being intercepted by the building 
behind. It appears, however, that this inconvenience was 
obviated by a borrowed light through that building itself, 
the back and front of which were pierced with apertures. 


Donaldson’s Pompeii. 


122 


POMPEII. 


There were most probably wooden galleries above the colon¬ 
nade and crypto-portico, and the upper cornice seems to have 
projected far into the area, thus protecting numerous little 
tables built of lava and covered with marble, which served 
for the purj^ose of displaying the goods which were here 
exhibited and sold ; for it appears probable that this building 
was for the use of the Pompeian manufacturers of cloth, 
whose gratitude to Eumachia is expressed by the statue and 
inscription before mentioned. On one side of the niche 
where the statue of Eumachia is placed was a false door,^ix 
feet wide and ten and a half high, painted on the stucco to 
correspond with the opening on the other side; it was of a 
yellow colour, and framed with styles and panels like those 



Statue of Eumachia and false door. 


now in use. It was divided perpendicularly into three com¬ 
partments. This door may be presumed to be similar to the 
door at the entrance from the Street of Abundance. To 
make the representation more exact, the ring which served 
for a handle had been imitated. The walls of the crypto¬ 
portico are also divided into large panels, painted alternately 
red and yellow, and decorated in the prevalent fashion; not 
the least singular part of which, as demonstrative of ancient 
horticultural taste, are the representations of borders of 
flowers along the bottom of the walls, representing a plant 
similar to the iris, except that the colour of the flower is 
vermilion. In the centre of each panel is a small figure or 
landscape. 

It is probable, as we have already said, that this further 


























































DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


123 


part of the building was the chalcidicum mentioned in the 
inscription, unless indeed that name should not rather be 
applied to the whole of it. The situation of this further 
part corresponds, at all events, with the precept of Vitruvius, 
that chalcidica should be cut off from one or both ends of 
a basilica if the area is longer than it ought to be; and 
in this case such an addition w’as necessary in order to 
reduce the form of the main building to a perfect parallelo¬ 
gram. This part is raised above the level of the area, and 
nijist have had temporary steps of wood; it is divided into 
two portions by the recess already mentioned. Near this 
was found a statue without the head; the robe with which 
it was di’aped was edged with a gilded or red stripe. 
Such an enclosed space w'as almost necessary (if we are 
right in considering it as a sort of cloth-market) for the safe 
custody of goods which remained unsold ; as were the tables 
under the projecting cornice for the display of goods, and the 
crypto-portico, or inclosed gallery for the transaction of busi¬ 
ness during the winter. The recess in the centre may also 
have been occupied by a magistrate, who ratified the sales, 
received the impost, if any was levied, and settled all disputes 
arising from the commercial transactions. The building 
appears to have been repairing at the time of the eruption, as 
a piece of marble was found on the spot, with a line drawn in 
charcoal, to guide the chisel of the mason. 

On the external wall of the crypt, whose recesses or false 
windows served as albums, was a notice of a gladiatorial 
show, as well as an inscription tending to prove the opulence 
of the city. It is to the effect that “ all the goldsmiths in¬ 
voked Cains Cuspius Pansa the .liEdile.” 

The only other building on the east side of the Forum is 
that commonly called the School of Verna. It is separated 
by the Street of Abundance from the Chalcidicum, on the 
album of Avhich the following inscription was found, which 
gave rise to the name of the building in question 

' C. CAPELLAM. D. V. I. D. 0. V. F. VERNA 
CUM DISCENTIBUS. 

That is, “Verna with his pupils requests you to make 
C. Capella Duumvir for administering justice.” But as this 
inscription was not found on the building itself, little can ba 


0 


124 


POMPEII. 


inferred from it. Some have imagined that they recognized 
in the building all the characteristics of an eastern school; 
while others have thought that the podium, or bench, which 
it contained, marks it out as a place of commerce. The fact 
is that its destination, like that of many other places in 
Pompeii, can only be guessed at. 

The south end of the Forum is occupied by three buildings, 
which much resemble one another in their plan, and are 
nearly of the same size. In the absence of all inscriptions, 
we have supposed two of these to be curiae, or places of 
assembly for the magistrates, and the central one an aerarium, 
or treasury. Others have thought them to be courts of 
justice for small causes, or police courts. They have un¬ 
doubtedly been highly decorated with marble statues and 
columns, fragments of which, together with pedestals for the 
latter, still remain on the floors; and it is said that many 
gold, silver, and copper coins were found in one of them. 
The floors are elevated above the colonnade, and are reached 
by steps : they have a cii’cular recess at the end for a tri¬ 
bunal, where a magistrate might preside over the meetings in 
the curisB, and a quaBstor attend to his duties in the public 
treasury. These buildings strike the eye of the traveller 
upon first entering the Forum, from the high dark-red masses 
of brick contrasting with the verdant mountains at their back, 
and the low limy buildings around them. We are inclined 
to think that they were divided into two stories, from traces 
of stairs which would have led to the upper floor, and also to 
the wooden gallery above the Forum. There is a narrow 
passage between the western curia and the aerarium. 

On the western side of the Forum are the basilica, a temple 
supposed to be dedicated to Yenus, and the public granaries 
and prisons, which latter have been already noticed. The 
basilica,* or court of justice, is the largest building in 
Pompeii. It is of an oblong form, two hundred and twenty feet 
in length by eighty, and corresponds in some particulars with 

* The destination of this building, which is pretty plain from its construc¬ 
tion, is accidentally confirmed by a graffito of the word “ Bassilica ” (though 
somewhat misspelt) near one of its side entrances. See Wordsworth, /nscnp* 
tiones Pompeianae, p. 14; Garrucci, Graffiiti de Pompei, p. 81. Another 
graffito, bearing the date of the consulship of Lepidus and Catulus, shows 
that the building was older than B.C. 79. 


desckiption of temples. 


125 


the usual ancient description of that building. It is placed 
on the warmest side of the Forum, at its south-west angle, 
and is entered through a vestibule having five doorways of 
masonry, in which grooves have been cut for the insertion of 
wooden door-jambs. From the vestibule the area of the 
basilica is reached by a flight of four steps, leading through 
five doorways, as in the vestibule. The roof was supported 
by a peristyle of twenty-eight large Ionic columns, con¬ 



structed of brick. Thus the space between the exterior walls 
and the peristyle was converted into a covered gallery, where 
the suitors were sheltered from the weather, while the light 
was admitted hypaBthrally from the centre of the peristyle. 
The tribunal was placed at the furthest end of the building, 
and on each side of it were two square chalcidica; a smaller 
order of half columns was attached to the walls, and four 
whole columns flank and divide the principal entrance; at 
each corner of the building two columns are joined together, 
something in the manner of a Gothic pier. This we believe 
to be a unique example of columns being thus united in 
Grecian architecture. Upon this smaller order the joists of 
the upper gallery must have rested at one end: the other 
most probably was let into the shaft of the larger column, as 
the smaller is placed immediately behind it. The gallery 




126 


POMPEII. 


projected as far as tlie centre of tlie large columns. Along 
tlie intercolumniations ran a pluteum, or parapet, high enough 
to prevent persons from falling over: this was most probably 
repeated all round the back of the gallery, on the face of the 
lateral walls, upon which, as a basement, a second order was 
raised. The aggregate height of the two smaller orders was 
most probably equal to that of the larger order of the peri¬ 
style, and the roof was sustained, as has been before men¬ 
tioned, by the lateral walls and the columns of the peristyle, 
which rose to the same height. 

The second gallery was reached by a staircase, placed 
without the building ; the roof also may have inclined in¬ 
wards, and the water have been carried away by channels 
sunk round the marble floors; but there are no remains of 
these floors, and as the place l3ears evident marks of having 
been excavated by the ancients, possibly for records of im¬ 
portant trials, it would appear that they had, at the same 
time, availed themselves of the opportunity afforded them to 
carry away the pavement of the building, of which only the 
pozzuolano, in which it was bedded, remains. In the centre 
of the lateral wall are two entrances, near which are wells. 
At the furthest end was raised the tribunal for the praetor, or 
judge, which must have been ascended by wooden steps: it is 
decorated with small columns, between which, at the back, 
were small apertures, and at the sides closets, probably for 
robes of office. Beneath were temporary dungeons for 
the accused ; and there are two holes in the floor, through 
which orders were transmitted to the person in charge of the 
prisoners. In front of the tribunal was a pedestal, on which 
the legs of a bronze statue were found. On each side of the 
tribunal were two enclosed apartments, intended probably for 
the use of suitors and their advocates, or the officers, lictors, 
and necessary attendants of the courts. The external walls 
are quite plain; but in the interior, courses of masonry are 
represented in stucco, painted with various colours in imita¬ 
tion of marble. Inscriptions have been faintly scratched 
on these walls by the loiterers in the courts, by no means re¬ 
markable for correctness either in style or sentiment. The 
large fluted columns which support the roof n,re singularly 
constructed with bricks and pieces of tufa, radiating from 
the centre, as may be seen in the foregoing plan, showing two 


DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


127 


alternate layers. All, whether of stone or brick, are covered, 
as well as the walls, with a tine marble stucco of great hard¬ 
ness. The opinion here expressed, that the lateral walls 
reached to the height, of the larger order, varies from that 
adopted by Sir W. Gell, who thinks that the peristyle alone 
supported the principal roof, called testudo, and that it rose 
above the rest of the building. He also thinks that the roof 
of the gallery or portico round the testudo inclined inwards, 
resting against the shaft of the large columns of the peristyle, 
and thus cutting in two parts the most important feature of 
the whole building. We dissent from this, because, had the 
construction been such as Sir W. Gell supposes, the whole 
would have been covered ; and such ingenious architects as 
the Pompeians employed would hardly have built the roof 
of the surrounding gallery so as to throw its drippings into 
the area within the peristyle, which, being covered, would 
have been the favourite place of assembly. 

Next to the basilica, which is an isolated building, is a 
temple, s^iid to be dedicated to Venus, separated from it by a 
street leading from the Sea Gate to the Forum. This temple 
is the largest and finest in Pompeii, and the only peripteral 
one. Some authorities have called it a Temple of Bacchus, from 
a painting which it contains of a Bacchic character; while 
others have considered it to have been dedicated to Mercury 
and Maia; an inference, however, which rests on a very far¬ 
fetched interpretation of an inscription.* There are several 
considerations which lead us to think that the common name 
is the best. For first, it is natural that Venus, who, as we 
have seen, was the patron goddess of Pompeii, should have 
had a magnificent temple set apart for her worship; and if we 
reject this, it would be difficult to fix upon any other so likely 
to have been devoted to this purpose. Again, the discovery 
here of a statue, something in the style of the Medicean Venus, 
and of a head of the same goddess, serves further to mark 
the destination of the temple. Further, it is remarked by 
Breton and Overbeck,t that the altar which stands before the 
cell is not adapted for bloody or burnt sacrifices, but only for 
offerings of fruits, cakes, and incense, such as were commonly 
made to Venus. The follomng inscription,J found in the 

♦ Mommsen, 2199. f Breton, Pomp. p. 54 ; Overbeck, B. i. S. 102. 

J Mommsen, 2201. 


POMPEII. 


128 

precincts of the temple, has also been thought to confirm its 
destination:— 

M. HOLCONIVS. RVFVS. D.V.I.D. TERT. 

C. EGNATIVS. POSTVMVS. D.V.I.D. ITER. 

EX. D.D. IVS. LVMINVM. 

OPSTRVENDORVM. H.S. oo oo oo 

REDEMERVNT. PARIETEMQVE. 

PRIVATVM. COL. VEN. COR. 

VSQVE. AT. TEGULAS. 

FACIVNDVM. C(ERARVNT.* 

Which has been interpreted: “ Marcus Holconius Kufus, 
and Gains Ignatius Posthumus, duumvirs of justice for the 
third time, by a decree of the Decurions, bought again the 
right of closing the openings for three thousand sesterces, and 
took care to erect a private wall to the college of the incor¬ 
porated Venereans up to the roof.” But this interpretation, 
which was given by Mazois, is inadmissible, inasmuch as the 
letters COK cannot stand for corporationis, awoid not used in 
Latin of the classical age to denote a society or community. 
On the other hand, if, with Breton f and Mommsen,^ we 
render the words “parietemque privatum Col. Yen. Cor., by 
“ the private wall of the colony Veneria Cornelia ,it is impos¬ 
sible to understand their meaning. 

The temple in question is peripteral and amphiprostyle, 
and is elevated on a podium, or basement. The portico in 
front of the cell is tetrastyle and pseudodipteral, and the 
columns are set arseostyle. Within the cell, which was very 
small, a beautiful mosaic bordre was found, besides the 
broken statue already mentioned. The temple stood in an 
open area, one hundred and fifty feet by seventy-five, sur¬ 
rounded by a wall and portico. At the north end was the 
priests’ apartment, having an outlet into the Forum; the 
public entrance was at the south. Opposite the latter, bronze 
ornaments resembling the heads of large nails were found, 
with which the door might have been decorated, according to 
a practice common among the ancients.^ The columns of the 
temple were Corinthian, fluted, and in part painted blue; 
those of the colonnade were originally Doric, but afterwards 
altered to Corinthian, varying in detail, very ill designed, and 

♦ Donaldson. t Fompeia, p. 51. t Ad locum. 


DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


129 


badly executed. A perforation has been made in one of the 
latter to receive a pipe, through which water for the sacrifices 


Mosaic border. 



flowed into a basin placed upon a circular fluted pedestal. The 
lower third of them is painted yellow, the rest is white. The 
details, or characteristic ornaments of the original Doric order, 

K 
































































































130 


POMPEII. 


are added with tiles and stucco, and the surface of the archi¬ 
trave is painted with an endless variety of ornament. Both a 
consular and a terminal figure were found here, but there is no 
reason for supposing that one of the latter was placed before 
each column of the colonnade. Channels were formed round 
the area, under the comice of this colonnade, to carry off the 
water from the roof, which inclined inwards like a shed. The 
ascent to the cell of the temple was by a flight of steps, on 
each side of which were pedestals; near one of them lay an 



Terminal figure in the Temple of Venus. 



Dwarfs, from a painting at Pompeii. 


Ionic votive column, with a tablet carved in relief upon its 
shaft, meant to receive the inscription stating by whom and 
on what occasion it was consecrated. The cell had a pilaster 
at each of the external angles, and the walls were stuccoed in 
imitation of masonry. In front of the steps was the great 
altar. An inscription on the east side of it, which is repeated 
on the west, records that the Quatuorviri, M. PORCIUS, 
L. SEXTILIUS, CN. CORNELIUS, and A. CORNELIUS, 
erected the altar at their own expense. The walls under the 
colonnade were painted in vivid coloui-s, principally on a 
black ground, representing landscapes, country-houses, and 












DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


181 


interiors of rooms with figures, but they are now almost 
effaced. The groups of figures consisted of dancers, sacri- 
ficers to Priapus, battles with crocodiles, &c.; one represented 
Hector tied to the car of Achilles, another the dispute between 
Achilles and Agamemnon, and near the' ground was a long 
series of dwarfish figures. In the apartment of the priest was 
found a very beautiful painting of Bacchus and Silenus. This, 
which may still be seen, had been removed by the ancients from 
some other place, and carefully fastened with iron cramps 
and cement in its present situation. In a recess, at the north- 



Painting of Bacchus and Silenns, in the apartment of the priest in the 
Temple of Venus. 

east end of the temple, under the colonnade of the Forum, 
stood the public measures for wine, oil, and grain. The 
originals have been carried to the Museum, and those now 
seen in situ are copies. These consist of nine cylindrical 
holes cut in an oblong block of tufa ; there are five large for 
grain, and four smaller for wine : the former had a sliding 
bottom, that the grain when measured might be easily re¬ 
moved. The latter are provided with tubes to draw off the 
liquid. These measures are placed near what we have already 
su2)posed to be the horrea, or public granaries. 

Having thus completed the circuit of the Forum, it only 
remains to mention a few less important matters. A portico, 
as we have often had occasion to mention, surrounds three 













132 


POMPEII. 


sides of this space: we will now speak more particularly of 
its construction. The columns are twelve feet high, and two 
feet three inches and a half in diameter; they were set ara30- 
style, about three and a half diameters, or eight feet six inches 
apart. It has been already mentioned as an objection to this 
width of intercolumniation, that, except where masses of stone 
of unusual size could be commanded, the architraves were 



Construction in wood and stone of the ar£Bostyle portico of the Forum. 

necessarily either flat arches or beams of wood (h). Here 
the latter material was used, and a stone entablature (d) 
raised upon it, as represented in the annexed engraving. 
Above this there probably was a gallery such at least, we 
learn from Vitruvius, was the general practice; and this gal¬ 
lery was usually appropriated to the use of those who had the 
management of the public revenue. 

The area of the Forum was adorned with pedestals, for the 
statues of those who merited or could procure this distinction. 
Some are of the proj^ortion adapted to equestrian statues. 
They were all coated with white marble, ornamented with 
a Doric frieze; and appear to have been still in process of 
erection, to rejilace an older set of pedestals, at the time 

* In the holes at c the joists of the floor of the upper gallery were most 
probabh'- flxed. 

t It is more probable that the marble was subsequently stripped off them. 
Five pedestals still retail', their marble in whole or in part. 







DESCRIPTION OF TEMPLES. 


133 


when Pompeii was destroyed. Some are inscribed with 
names, and on one of them may he read that of Pansa. At 
the south end is a small isolated arch, on which possibly the 
tutelary genius of the city might have been placed. Such 



was the construction of a Eoman forum; the reader will not 
be at a loss to appreciate its combined utility and magnifi¬ 
cence. Some surprise may be felt at the expense lavished so 
prodigally on public buildings in an inconsiderable town. 





















134 


POMPEII. 


But tlie Eomans lived in public, and depended on the public 
for their amusements and pleasure. “ A lioman citizen,” 
says M. Simond, ‘‘ went out early, and did not return home 
until the evening repast; he spent his day in the forum, at 
the baths, at the theatre—everywhere, in short, except at his 
own home, where he slept in a small room, without windows, 
without a chimney, and almost without furniture.” Archi¬ 
tectural s];)lendour therefore, both in places of public business 
and of public pleasure, was far more studied and of far greater 
importance than it now is ; and money, both public and pri¬ 
vate, was lavished upon such purposes with a profuseness far 
more than commensurate, according to modern notions, with 
the objects to which it was directed. We may add, to explain 
the motives which induced individuals to bestow their money 
so freely in increasing the splendour of their city, that there 
was no surer road to power and influence, either in the capi¬ 
tal, or in the smaller sphere of a provincial town, than by 
gratifying the taste of the people for splendour, either in 
public buildings or in the amusements of the stage or the 
amphitheatre. 

The architecture of Pompeii is not always in the best 
taste, yet there is much to admire in it, both for the design 
and the execution. The restoration of the Forum, which 
forms the frontispiece to this volume, will convey to the 
reader some idea at once of the artificial and natural beauties 
of that city. 



Jlale Centaur and Bacchante. 


135 



iVIaible bas-relief fuund in Pompeii, repre-enting a warrior, and a black slave 
diiving his biga. 


CHAPTER Y. 

THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 

The present chapter will be devoted to the description of the 
remaining temples and some other public buildings in various 
quarters of the city. 

At the corner of the main street leading to the Forum and 
that called the Street of Fortune is a small Corinthian temple, 
dedicated to Fortune by a private person, one M. Tullius. It 
has been cased with marble both within and without, and is 
accessible by two flights, of steps. The lower flight, broken 
in the middle by a podium or low wall, consists of three, the 
upper flight of eight steps. There is an altar placed upon the 
podium, which was protected from wanton intrusion by an 
iron railing running along the side-margins and in front of 
the steps. Holes for the reception of the uprights still 
remain, together with pieces of iron. The portico has four 
columns in front and two at the sides, and the external walls 
of the cella are decorated with pilasters. At the end of the 
















136 


POMPEII. 


building is a semicircular niche, containing a small temple of 
the Corinthian order, richly finished and designed, under 
which the statue of the goddess was placed; 



This Marcus Tullius, who appears from an inscription on 
the architrave to have erected this temple, has been supposed 



























THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 137 

to be a descendant of the gi-eat Cicero. The belief rests on 
two circumstances: * * * § on the finding in the interior of the 
building a statue of the size of life, said to bear some resem¬ 
blance to the busts of the distinguished orator; and on an 
inscription on the architrave of the temple, which may still 
be seen lying on the floor of the building. It runs as 
follows:— 

M. TULLIHS. M.F.D.V.LD. TER. QUINQUE. AUGUR. TR. MIL. 

A. POP. ^DEM. FORTUN/E. AUG. SOLO. ET. PEQ. SUA. 

That is: Marcus Tullius, son of Marcus, three times duumvir 
for the administration of justice, Quinquennalis,* Augur, and 
Tribune of the soldiers by election of the people, erected 
this temple of Fortuna Augusta on his own ground and at 
his own expense.” In a small slip of ground on the south¬ 
east side of the temple was found another inscription, running 
as follows :— 

M. TULLII. M.F. 

AREA PRIVATA.t 

The fiuL'st of these inscriptions, as well as four others, satis¬ 
factorily ascertain the temple to have been dedicated to 
Fortuna Augusta ; but whether the builder of it belonged to 
the family of M. Tullius Cicero, the orator, is a question of 
some difficulty. Only the father and grandfather of the orator 
bore the name of Marcus Tullius, and some writers have as¬ 
sumed that the temple was built by one of these.J But, as 
Overbeck remarks,§ the epithet Augusta applied to Fortuna 
seems to negative this assumption, and to show the building 
of the temple to have been later than the establishment of 
the empire. 

The statue before mentioned is clothed in the toga prse- 
texta, the robe of office of the Koman magistrates ; and what 
adds value and singularity to the statue, this robe is entirely 

* The Quinquennalis, as we have said, was a magistrate in coloniae or mu- 
nicipia, who was elected every five years, and whose functions seem to have 
resembled those m the censor at Rome. 

f For these inscriptions, see Mommsen, Nos. 2219, 2221. Also, for other 
inscriptions relating to the building. Nos. 2222-6. 

X Breton, p. 64. 

§ Pompeii, B. i. S. 95. 


138 


POMPEII. 


painted with a deep purple violet colour. But as in the 
republican times the praetexta had only a purple hem, and as 
a toga entirely dyed with that colour was an imperial dis¬ 
tinction, first assumed by Julius Caesar,* there seems reason 
for believing that the statue must have been intended to 
represent an emperor, perhaps Augustus. The probability 
of this inference is increased by the circumstance of a slab 
of marble having been found in the building, with the follow¬ 
ing fragmentary inscription :f 

STO C.ESAPJ 
PAKENTI PATRI^. 

A female statue, the size of life, was also found within the 
cella, clothed in a tunic falling to her feet, and above it a 
toga. The border of the former is gilt; the latter is edged 
with a red purple bandeau, an inch and a quarter wide ; the 
right arm is pressed upon the bosom, with the hand elevated 
to the .chin, while the left hand holds up the toga. The 
face of this figure has been sawn off. Some have silpposed 
this a piece of economy of the Pompeians, who, wishing to 
pay a compliment to some distinguished person, had thought 
that the cheapest way of doing it was to substitute her face 
for that originally belonging to the statue. 

It is manifest that the ancients have made excavations on 
this spot, and carried away the columns of the temple and 
the marble with which it was covered, both within and with¬ 
out. Some of the capitals however remain to show the 
order of its architecture, and enough is preserved to assure 
us that it was rich in ornament and highly finished. 

Near the theatres, in the Street of Stabiae, at the angle 
which it makes with the Street of Isis, is a small temple 
called the Temple of ^sculapius. The entrance leads into 
an open court, in which stands an altar, large out of all pro¬ 
portion to the size of the building, peculiar in its character, 
and bearing a striking resemblance to the sarcophagus of 
the Scipios in the Vatican ; the most remarkable points 
being the triglyphs with which the frieze is ornamented, 
which are of rare occurrence in constructions of this size 
and character, and the volutes at the corners, which are not 

♦ Cic. Philipp, ii. 34. f Hist. Antiq. Pomp. t. ii. p. 96, 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 139 

known to occur elsewhere. The court is traversed in its 
whole width by a flight of nine steps, on the top of which 
stands the temple itself, comprising a small square cell, with 
a tetrastyle pseudo-dipteral portico. 

In the cell were found two terra-cotta statues as large as 
life, one male the other female ; they are now preserved in 
the terra-cotta collection in the National Museum. The 
female statue is taller than the male, its height being 
8 palms, while that of the latter is only 7i palms.* They 
are supposed by many authorities to represent Jupiter and 
Juno, and hence the temple frequently bears the name of 
those deities. .Winkelmann flrst called them iEsculapius 
and Hygeia,f and thus gave the temple a new name. 'J'he 
representations of Jupiter and ^sculapius are very similar 
in ancient works of art, so that, unless they are accompanied 
by some symbols, it is frequently difiicult to distinguish 
them. It seems however hardly probable, that if these 
statues represented Jupiter and Juno, the goddess should 
have beqji larger than the god; or that the two chief divini¬ 
ties of Olympus should have been crowded into so tiny a 
temple. There was also found a marble bust of Minerva, 
which has led Overbeck to talk about a temple of the three 
Capitoline deities.J But the size of it is still more adverse 
to such a notion. On the other hand, as, by some mytholo- 
gists, Minerva is represented to have been the child of 
.^sculapius and Hygeia, this bust might serve to confirm the 
idea of Winkelmann; and the finding of several ex voto offer¬ 
ings of hands, feet, &c., in terra-cotta, affords a further cor¬ 
roboration of it. It is scarcely necessary to mention a third 
name which has been sometimes given to this temple, namely, 
that of Neptune, derived from a head sculptured on the 
capitals of the columns, and thought to represent that deity. 
We need only add that the robes of the terra-cotta statues 
bear evident traces of having been coloured red. 

Proceeding westward, along the northern side of the same 
island of building, we come to the Temple of Isis, separated 
from the Temple of ^sculapius by a narrow passage leading 
to the great theatre. The destination of this temple is satis- 

* I/ist. Anfiq. Pomp. t. i. p. 194. 

. t Gesch der Kunst, B. i, 2, 2 ; B. v. 1, 32. 

X B. i 6. S8. 


140 


POMPEII. 




factorily ascertained by the following inscriiDtion above the 
entrance :— 

N. POPIDIVS. N. F. CELSINVS. 
iEDEM. ISIDIS. TEKR.E. MOTV. CONLAPSAM 
A. FVNDAMENTO. P. S. RESTITVIT. 

HViNC. DECVKIONES. OB. LIBERALITATEM. 

CVM. ESSET. ANNORVM. SEXS. ORDIXI. SVO. 

• GRATIS. ADLEGERVNT.* 

“ Numerius (or Nonnius) Popidius Celsinns, son of Nume- 
rius, restored from the foundation, at his own expense, the 
Temple of Isis, overthrown by an earthquake. The Decu- 
rions, on account of his liberality, elected him when sixty 
years of age to be one of their order free of expense.” The 
earthquake alluded to was probably that in the year 63, six¬ 
teen years before the eruption of Vesuvius. 

This is one of the most perfect examples now existing of 
the parts and disposition of an ancient temple. A rude 
Corinthian portico encompasses the court; the coli^mns are 
about one foot nine inches in diameter, the shafts painted. 
To the two nearest the entrance, two lustral marble basins, 
now in the Museum of Naples, were found attached, and a 
wooden box, reduced to charcoal, probably a begging-box to 
receive the contributions of worshippers. The aedes, for the 
reader will observe that this little building is not in the in¬ 
scription called a temple, stands insulated in the centre of 
the court on an elevated podium, and is accessible by a flight 
of steps occu23ying only part of its front. On each side of 
the portico are altars. In front of the cell is a Corinthian 
tetrastyle portico, comprising six columns. It is flanked by 
two wings, with niches for the reception of statues : behind 
that on the left are steps, and a side entrance to the cell. 
The whole exterior is faced with stucco decorations, capri¬ 
cious in style, and disfigured by a strange mixture of the 
very commonest species of ornament. Within the temple, 
at the further end, a strip is parted off, probably for some 

* Fiorelli, Pomp. Ant. Hist. t. i. p. 174; Mommsen, No. 224.3. It should 
be stated that Mommsen, as well as Overbeck, B. i. S. 107, intei-prets the word 
sexs by six, and explains the difficulty by .su})posing that Popidius was a rich 
heir in tutelage, and that the money was laid out in his name by his guardian. 
Overbeck contends that such a thing might be done in those days. 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 141 

juggling purposes connected witli the worship of the temple.* 
In the south-east corner of the enclosure is a small build¬ 
ing, ornamented with pilasters, with an arched opening in 
the centre, and over the arch a representation of figures in 
the act of adoration; a vase is placed between them. This 
building covered the sacred well, to which there is a descent 
by steps, and served probably for purification of the wor¬ 
shippers and other uses of the temple. The whole is gro¬ 
tesquely decorated with elegant though capricious stuccos, 
and whimsically painted. The ground-colour between the 
pilasters is yellow, that of the frieze red, and the flat space 
between the arch and the pediment is green, while within 
the arch it is yellow. The cornice was surmounted by terra¬ 
cotta antefixes, which, from a single fragment remaining, 
representing a mask, appear to have been executed with great 
taste and skill. 

Before this building stands the chief altar, which seems to 
have been placed in this situation instead of immediately 
before the cella, either to save room, or else perhaps because 
the ceremonies required the priests to visit the small building 
and the sacred well just described. There were found on 
this altar the ashes and parts of burnt bones of the victims, 
and the white stuccoed wall of the adjoining edifice, contain¬ 
ing the sacred well, was discoloured with the smoke from the 
fire. Opposite to it, on the other side of the court, is what, 
appears to be a sort of square fountain, under which Domenico 
Fontana’s canal now flows ; but at the time of its discovery it 
was filled with black ashes, the remains apparently of car¬ 
bonized fruits.f Before the left wing of the portico of the cell 
is another smaller altar, probably intended for the worship of 
the deity whose statue may have stood in the niche ali-eady 
mentioned. On each side of the steps leading up to the cella 
are two small pedestals which contained the famous basalt 
Isiac tables. One of them was broken; the other was re¬ 
moved to the National Museum. It is about five feet high 
and one and a half broad. At the top of it are engraved 

* This idea is rejected both by Breton and Overbeck, the place in question 
being open to the gaze of all. 

t ]’omp. Ant. Hist. t. i. p. 172 (.June 8th, 1765), and p. 182 (Dec. 14th). 
Among the fruits were observed dates, chesnuts, nuts, figs, pines, and filberts. 
Ibid, p. 190 (June 21st, 1766). 


142 


POMPEII. 




fourteen figures, thirteen of which are turned towards the 
fii-st, which is rather larger, and supposed to represent Osiris. 
Beneath are twenty lines of hieroglyphics, which have been 
interpreted by the. younger Champollion to be an invocation 
to Osiris and Isis.* By Overbeck, however, it is regarded as 
a mere sham, and totally unconnected with the worship of 
Isis, either in general, or at Pompeii in particular.f 

On the court wall, in a niche fronting the temple, stood a 
painted figure of Sigaleon, or Harpocrates, called by the 
Egyptians Or us, the son of Isis, represented pressing his 
forefinger to his lip, to impress silence, and intimate that 
the mysteries of the worshij) were never to be revealed. 
Beneath the niche is a shelf, intended perhaps to receive 
offerings, under which a board was found, supposed to have 
been meant to facilitate kneeling. In another part of the 
court a beautiful figure of Isis was found standing on its 
pedestal, the drapery painted purple, and in part gilt. She 
held in her right hand the sistrum, an instrument peculiar 
to her service, made of bronze, in the form of a racket, with 
three loose bai’s across it, to serve the purpose of cymbals, or 
other noisy instruments; in her left, the key of the sluices 
of the Nile.J 

In the south side of the court, immediately opposite the 
entrance from the street, there are two chambers and a 
kitchen, with stoves, on which the bones of fish and other 
animals were found. A skeleton lay in the outermost room, 
supposed to be that of one of the priests, who having deferred 
probably to make his escape until it was too late to do so by 
the door, was attempting to break through the walls with an 
axe. He had already forced his way through two, but before 
he could pass a third was stifled by the vapour. The axe 
was lying near his remains. Behind the temple is a large 
chamber, forty-two feet by twenty-five, in which another 
skeleton was found, who seems, like his companion, to have 
been at dinner, for chicken bones, egg-shells, and earthen 
vases were near him. In the sacred precinct lay many other 
skeletons, supposed those of priests, who reposing a vain 
hope in the power of their deity, were unwilling to quit 

* Breton, Pompeia, p. 44. 

t B. i. S. 111. 

X Pomp. Ant. Hist., Mar, 4, 1756 (t. i. p. 185'), 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 143 

her protection, and remained until the accumulation of 
volcanic matter prevented them from seeking safety in 
flight.* Pictures were to be seen of the priests of Isis, 
represented with the head closely shaven, robed in white 
linen, typical of the introduction of linen among the 
Egyptians by Isis. They were bound by their vows to celi¬ 
bacy ; never ate onions; abstained from salt to their meat, 
and were forbidden the flesh of sheep or hogs. Fish, we 
learn from Plutarch, was their chief diet. They were em¬ 
ployed day and night in unremitting devotion round the 
statue of their deity. In several parts of the edifice were 
termini, or small square columns, surmounted with the heads 
of various divinities. Statues also were discovered, among 
which was an image of Venus, with the arms and neck gilt., 
Paintings of architectural subjects ^^^eve also discovered 
detached from the walls; two pictures of the ceremonials 
then in use among the priests of Isis, as well as a repre¬ 
sentation of Anubis, with the head of a dog; many priests, 
with palms and ears of corn, and one holding a lamp in his 
hand; there was also the representation of a hippopotamus 
and an ibis, the lotus, various birds, and, on a pilaster, dol¬ 
phins. All the instruments of sacrifice, made of bronze, 
were obtained during the excavations. 

The modern aqueduct, executed by Dominico Fontana, 
which conveys the water of the Sarnus to the town of Torre 
del Annunciata, runs, as we have said, through the court of 
this temple; and the town having been here first discovered, 
it diverges, and is arched over, in consequence of the ancient 
edifices above ground, which would otherwise have been 
destroyed. 

Between the Temple of Isis and the propylieum, or 
entrance-portico to the triangular Forum, is an oblong build¬ 
ing, the purpose of which is not very well defined. It con¬ 
sists of a coui’t, surrounded on three sides by a portico of the 
Doric order, still pretty perfect, with two rooms at one end, 
and an elevated pulpitum, for a speaker, at the side. The 
whole building is seventy-nine feet long by fifty-seven wide; 
the columns, like almost all found at Pompeii, are very high 

There is no record of these skeletons in the Journals of the Excavations, 
and wf ai e ignorant of the scuice from which the author took the account of 

them. 


144 


POMPEII. 


in proportion to their* diameter (1 : 4), being in fact eight 
and a half diameters, while those of the Parthenon are not 
quite five and a half. The intercolumniation is seven feet 
six inches, and the architrave was of course supported by 
beams. In the centre of the pillar is an elevation, placed to 
relieve the abacus of the superincumbent weight, which 
might perhaps have broken it. There are three entrances : 
one from the street; another, which has been much used and 
worn, from the portico surrounding the Greek temple; and a 
third leading directly to the great theatre. 

^ The destination of this building has proved a perfect 
riddle to antiquarians. Some have given it the name of the 
Curia Isiaca, and consider it to have been a place for initiating 
persons into the mysteries of Isis. But it has no communi¬ 
cation with the neighbouring temple of Isis, and its whole 
construction seems too opefi and public for such a purpose. 
Some again have taken it to be a school, a court of justice, or 
a market, and support this opinion by instancing the pulpitum 
which stands opposite the entrance from the Street of Isis. 
This pulpitum consists of a sort of pediment between six and 
seven feet high, and about a yard square at top. It is as¬ 
cended from behind by a flight of six high but very narrow 
stone steps, the last of which so much overtops the pulpitiun, 
or pediment, that it might serve for a seat to anybody who had 
mounted it. Before it stands another smaller pediment, or 
basis, som(iwhat resembling an altar, about four feet high. 
Hence some writers have been led to conclude that the taller 
pediment was the basis for the statue of some divinity, to 
whom sacrifice was offered on the smaller one, or altar. 
Overbeck appears to incline to this view,* and is, at all 
events, decidedly of opinion that the tall pediment was sur¬ 
mounted by a statue. In support of this view he refers to 
the Journal of the Excavations, where under date of August 
3rd, 1797, we are told that a pyramid had been discovered in 
the building which we are discussing, and on its soglia one 
foot of a marble statue almost entire, and a small part of 
another. 

^ That the building was immediately connected with the 
theatre may be inferred from the fact that the third door 


* B. i. S. 135. 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 145 

(not mentioned by Overbeck) leads nowhere else. The 
following inscription, found in the great theatre, seems also 
to point the same way :— 

M. M. HOLCONII. RUFUS ET. CELER 
CRYPTAM. TRIBUNaLIA THEATRUM. S. P.* 

That is: the two Holconii erected or renovated a crypt, 
tribunals, and theatre, at their own expense. Hence some 
writers have been led to call the whole building the Tribunal, 
but we are not aware that the word is ever so applied! 
]Moreover, the inscription does not say a tribunal, but tri¬ 
bunals, in the plural; meaning, apparently, some part of the 
theatre so called, and probably the seats destined for the 
higher magistrates. It seems to us more probable that the 
building may have been the crypto-porticus mentioned in the 
inscription, which would have formed a kind of lobby and re¬ 
tiring room for the spectators in the theatre; but the use of 
the pediment in question we are unable to explain. 

Between this building and the circular back wall of the 
great theatre there is an open area, where stands a large 
square mass of building, supposed by some to have been the 
foundation for a cistern. Its real purpose is doubtful. 

Behind the scene of the theatre stands a large rectangular 
enclosure, one hundred and eighty-three feet long and one 
hundred and forty-eight wide, surrounded by a Doric colon¬ 
nade, having twenty-two columns on the longer sides and 
seventeen on the shorter. The columns are constructed of 
volcanic tufa, fluted two-thirds of their height, covered v/ith 
stucco and painted, the lower part red, and the upper alter¬ 
nately red and yellow, except the two centre ones of the east 
and west sides, the upper parts of which are blue. The 
surrounding walls were also covered with stucco, painted red 
below, with yellow above. On the northern side there was 
a direct communication with both theatres, and the portico of 
the building must have been of great utility to the spectators, 
affording additional shelter from the rains when the porticos 
of the great theatre might have been crowded. 

At the time when this building was excavated (1766 and 
several following years) it was supposed to be a barrack, 
and obtained the name of the Soldiers’ Quarters. After- 

Monimsem, Inscrr, llegni. Xeap,, Xo, 2299. 


146 


POMPEII. 


wards, liowcvcr, from its situation near the Forum Trian- 
gular(}, it eame to be considered as a market-place, and was 
called the Forum Nundinarium, or weekly market. But the 
arguments on which this view rests are far from being con¬ 
vincing. That it was a sort of barrack hardly admits of a 
doubt, both from the nature of the place and the objects 
found in it; but it may be a question whether it was intended 
for the soldiery or for the gladiators exhibited in the amphi¬ 
theatre. That a town like Pompeii must have had accommo¬ 
dation for its garrison is evident enough, and the building in 
question seems excellently adapted for such a purpose. The 
arms found in it, however, were exclusively of the kind used 
by gladiators ; not a single soldier’s weapon was discovered, 
while the paintings and graffiti had also reference to gladia¬ 
torial combats. Among these graffiti^ traced with a hard 
point on the surface of the ninth column of the east side, was 
the representation of a fighting gladiator, with these letters, 
XX Valerius. It has been detached from the wall and 
carried to the Museum. From these circumstances, Garrucci 
designated the place as a Indus gladiatorius, or school for 
gladiators, in which view he has been followed by Overbeck.* 
That, as Breton remarks,f the soldiers’ quarters may also 
have occasionally served for lodgings for the gladiators, and 
thus have combined both purposes, is not improbable in 
itself; but the circumstance before mentioned, that no 
soldiers’ weapons were discovered here, seems to negative 
this view. 

Round this colonnade were many small rooms or cells, 
with an upper story over them, making their number alto¬ 
gether sixty-six. The upper ones were entered from a gallery 
running round the building, to which there was an ascent by 
a staircase. These rooms could not well have accommodated 
more than two men in each, which would give a total of one 
hundred and thirty-two. To the objection that it would be 
absurd to suppose that a suiall town like Pompeii could have 
supported so large a body of gladiators. Overbeck answers,! 
with much show of reason, that it is evident from its amphi¬ 
theatre, capable of holding 12,000 or 15,000 spectators, that 
Pompeii must have been the central place of the whole 

* Nmvo Bulletino NapoUtano; Overbeck, B. i. S. 180. 

t Pompeia, p. 13o. * B. i, S. 183 seq. 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 147 

iieiglibourliocd for the exhibition of gladiatorial shows; and 
this is also plain from the quarrel before related between the 
Pompeians and the Niicerians in the amphitheatre of the 
former. We also learn, from inscriptions found in Pompeii, 
that thirty or thirty-five pairs of gladiators, or sixty to seventy 
combatants were sometimes exhibited at one time. We know 
not how often such shows were given, or whether a larger 
number of gladiators may not sometimes have been engaged, 
nearly half of whom may have been killed in the arena, 
while many more would have died of their wounds. 

The upper story of this building has been restored at one 
of the angles, upon the authority cf various indications in 



Bronze helmet found at Pompeii. 


the construction. Here was found a bronze helmet, highly 
enriched with bas-reliefs relating to the principal events of 
the capture of Troy. Another helmet found in Pompeii re- 








148 


POMPEII. 


presents the triumphs of Rome in the midst cf her vanquished 
enemies and captives; this one has a vizor, like those cf the 
lower ages, with square and round holes to see through. 



Specimen of the Greaves supposed to have been worn by the Gladiators. 
























THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 


149 


From their size and weight, these pieces of armour have 
been suj)poscd by some not to have been really worn, but 
only intended as ornaments for trophies; but Sir W. Hamil¬ 
ton, who was present at their excavation, states distinctly 
that he saw part of the linings adhering to them, now fallen 
out, and has no doubt but that they were meant for use, and 
of their having been worn. Greaves, or coverings for the 
shins, made of bronze and highly ornamented, were also dis¬ 
covered here; on these were sculptured masks alluding to 
the dramatic representations. The most remarkable is one 
with a triple face, representing the tragic, comic, and satiric 
features. 

On the right or eastern side of the colonnade is a small 
apartment which seems to have served as a prison or place 
(f punishment, since a sort of iron stocks, with holes for the 
legs, was found in it. In this room were discovered the 
skeletons of four men, who might probably have been pri¬ 
soners, but their legs do not appear to have been enclosed in 
the irons, as some writers have asserted.* Many other 
skeletons were found in different parts of the building, and 
in one place thirty-four lay close together.t May not these 
have been the bodies of killed or badly wounded gladiators ? 
All the cells are much alike. In one of them was found an 
instrument used apparently as an oil mill; in another was 
discovered a curious brass trumpet, to which were fitted six 
ivory flutes mounted with bronze, and a chain for hanging it 
round the neck.J 

The quarter of the theatres is inferior only to that of the 
Forum in the variety and beauty of its buildings. As the 
latter was especially dedicated to business, so was the former 
to pleasure ; and we here find ample provision made for the 
gratification of the citizens, not only by dramatic entertain¬ 
ments, but by spacious porticos and large areas, which pro¬ 
bably were planted and adorned with flowers. It was in 
such places as these, under the shade of colonnades, or in the 
open air, as the weather might invite, in each other’s com¬ 
pany, that the Italians loved to take the mild exercise whicli 
suited the climate; for when they engaged in more violent 
exercise it was in athletic games or similar pursuits: to 

♦ Pomp. Ant. Hist. t. i. p. 197. f Ibid, pp. 211, 212, 218. 

t Breton, p. 140. 


150 


POMPEII. 


take a walk, in the English acceptation of the term, ^vas a 
thing that no one ever thought of doing for pleasure. The 
theatres themselves, which will be described in a separate 
chapter, are small and plain compared with those which ex¬ 
isted at Eome, yet they bear the remains of considerable mag¬ 
nificence, and the larger at least would be considered of great 
size in any modern capital. The approach to them must have 
combined convenience and beauty in no common degree. Just 
at the point where the two routes from the Forum unite, 
there stands a propyleum, or vestibule, of eight Ionic columns 
in Antis^ raised upon two steps, one foot nine inches in dia¬ 
meter and thirteen feet four inches high, forming one of the 
best remaining monuments of Pompeii. In the mouldings of 
the entablature an artifice has been employed by the archi¬ 
tect to produce an effect as if black lines had been painted. 
This is done by cutting deep narrow lines under the project¬ 
ing mouldings, allowing of no reflection, and consequently 
producing a sharp and black shadow. In front of one of the 
columns is a fountain, that never absent article of Pompeian 
comfort, supplied with water through a mask sculptured in 
stone. A marble basin or patera is also attached to one of 
the columns of the portico, facing you as you enter, which 
was fed by pipes carried up through the centre of the column. 
In this vestibule some articles of gold and silver w'ere found, 
together with an emerald ring. This leads into what is com¬ 
monly called the Triangular Forum, surrounded by an exten- 
tensive colonnade of the Doric order, between the pillars of 
which were iron bars, to confine the crowd within them. The 
greater, or eastern side of the triangle is about 450 feet 
in length, the other being about 300 feet. The third, or 
southern side, appears to have had no portico, and was 
perhaps lined with small shops. Within this ample area, 
which was not properly a forum, but a sacred enclosure, are 
the remains of an edifice, called, from its style of architec¬ 
ture, the Greek temple, otherwise the Temple of Hercules. 
This, from its size, arrangement, and style of art, is one of 
the most important buildings in Pompeii. The Count de 
Clarac * dates its erection about eight hundred years before 
tlie Christian era; and if this remote antiquity can be main- 


* See Pompeii, par le Comte de Clarac. 


THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII. 151 

tainccl, it is one of tlic most ancient specimens existing of 
Grecian art, and must have been erected by some of the 
earliest Grecian colonists. It is in a very dilapidated state ; 
the few indications that can be relied on seem to prove that 
it had an entire peristyle of columns, three feet ten inches 
and a half in diameter, diminishing at the top to three feet, 
and about four and a half diameters, or seventeen feet six 
inches high, comprising seven columns on the north-west 
and south-east fronts, and eleven on each of the sides. The 
intercolumniations are one diameter and two-ninths. This 
is one of the few instances of an ancient building having an 
uneven number of columns in front, and consequently an odd 
one in the centre; another instance occurs in the basilica of 
Peestum. The capitals belong to the Grecian Doric; the 
abacus, or flat stone at the tiop, is four feet eleven inches 
square, and the whole capital peculiar, inasmuch as the stone 
out of which it is worked includes no part of the shaft. Its 
great depth (one foot ten inches and a quarter) and bold pro¬ 
jection indicate a very ancient character.* The masonry 
has been covered with fine stucco. The cell ai)pears to have 
been divided into several compartments, paved with mosaic, 
and there seem to have been two entrances from the portico, 
one on each side of the centre column. The whole building 
stands upon a podium or basement, raised five steps above the 
level of the ground. In front there is a further flight of 
five steps; these are entire, but much worn. The total 
length of the building, including the podium, but not the 
flight of steps, is about 120 feet; its breadth about 70. 
Before the steps is a square enclosure, supposed to have been 
a pen to contain victims, and by its side two altars. A little 
further off stands a small monopteral building, of the Doric 
order, covering a puteal, or well, from which the water re¬ 
quired in the temple was drawn. Otherwise it has been 
called a bidental, or locus fulminatus, a spot where a thunder¬ 
bolt has fallen. Such spots were held in especial awe by the 
ancient Eomans, and set apart as sacred to Pluto and infernal 
deities. The method of its construction will suit either sup¬ 
position. Eight columns of tufa, one foot four inches in 
diameter, supported a circular epistyle and roof. Under this 


♦ Gel), p. 241. 


152 


P03IPEII. 


is a structure resembling a circular perforated altar, sucli as 
was commonly placed for security round the mouth of wells. 
Exactly the same covering was placed over a bidental, and in 
either case it was alike called putcal. 

It has been supposed that the temple was erected on the 
site of a still older pottery, from the fragments of vases and 
tiles which have been discovered under the base. The spot 
is elevated considerably above the level of the plain, which 
it overlooks, but is not quite so high as the Forum. Near 
the south-west corner of the building is an exedra, or seat, 
placed to atford the worshippers and others the full enjoy¬ 
ment of the magnificent and extensive view. The seat is 
semicircular, like those in the Street of Tombs. From it a 
noble prospect presented itself to the eye, embracing Castel- 
lamare, Vico, Sorrento, the promontory of Minerva, and the 
island of Capri, with almost the entire expanse of the dark 
blue bay of Naples. The city wall aj^pears to have bounded 
the area upon this, the south side, so that the portico, which 
would have interrupted the view, was only continued along 
two sides. Parallel to the eastern portico there runs a long 
wall, terminated at one end by the altars already mentioned 
and at the other by a pedestal, inscribed 

M. CLAUDIO. M.F. lilARCELLO. PATKOXO 


153 



CHAPTEE VI. 

BATHS EXCAVATED IN THE YEARS 1824 AND 1858. 

After the excavations at Pompeii had been carried on to a 
considerable extent, it was matter of surprise that no public 
baths were discovered, particularly as they were sure almost 
to be placed in the most frequented situation, and therefore 
probably somewhere close to the Forum. The wonder was 
increased by the small number of baths found in private 
houses. That public baths existed, was long ago ascertained 
from an inscription discovered in 1749, purporting that one 
Januarius, an enfranchised slave, supplied the baths of Marcus 
Crassus Frugi with water, both fresh and salt. At length an 
excavation in the vicinity of the Forum brought to light a 
suite of public baths, admirably arranged, spacious, highly 
decorated, and superior to any even in the most considerable 
of our modern cities. They are fortunately in good pre¬ 
servation, and throw much light on what the ancients, and 
especially Vitruvius, have written on the subject. 


154 


POMPEII. 


Inscription in the Court of the Baths. 

DEDICATIONE. THERMARUM. MUNERIS. CXyEI. 
ALLEI. XIGIDII. MAIJ. VENATIO. ATHLET^E. 
SPARSIONES. VELA. ERUXT. MAIO. 
PRINCIPE COLONLE. EELICITER. 

Fac-simile of the above inscription. 


DIDJC\ri@J/E, 


MA'O ^ * 

pRif.'ctr/coi -yiAC 

-- --— 

.. .f % A\’A\VyI 

' •Vt'VATIf) 


“ On occasion of tlie dedication of the baths, at the expense of Cnaeus Alleius 
Nigidius Maius, there will be the cliase of wild beasts, athletic contests, 
sprinkling of perfumes, a'nd an awning. Prospeiity to Maius, chief of the 
colony.” 

This announcement of a public entertainment is written 
on a wall of the court of the baths, to the right hand on 
entering.* 

The i^rovincial toA\Tis, imitating the example of Eome, and 
equally fond of all sorts of theatrical and gladiatorial exhibi¬ 
tions, of which we shall hereafter speak at length in dc.scrib- 
ing the various theatres of Pompeii, usually solemnized the 
completion of any edifices or monuments erected for the 
public service by dedicating them. This ceremony was 
nothing more than opening or exhibiting the building to the 
2 )eople in a solemn manner, gratifying them at the same 
time with largesses and various S23ectacles. When a private 
man had erected the building, he himself was usually the 
person who dedicated it. When undertaken by the public 
order and at the public cost, the citizens deputed some 
magistrate or rich and popular person to perform the cere¬ 
mony. In the ca 2 )ital vast sums were exj)ended in this 
manner; and a man who asjhred to become a popular leader 
could scarcely lay out his money to better interest than in 
courting favour by the prodigality of his expenses on these or 
similar occasions. It appears, then, that upon the comple¬ 
tion of the baths, the Pomi^eians committed the dedication to 
Cnasus Alleius Nigidius Maius, who entertained them with a 

* Now effaced. 



DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


155 


sumptuous spectacle. There were combats (venatio) between 
wild beasts, or between beasts and men, a cruel sport, to 
which the Romans were passionately addicted; athletic 
games (athletce), sprinkling of perfumes (sparsiones), and it 
was further engaged that an awning should be raised over the 
amphitheatre. The convenience of such a covering will be 
evident, no less as a protection against sun than rain under 
an Italian sky; the merit of the promise, which may seem 
but a trifle, will be understood by considering the difficulty 
cf stretching a covering over the immense area of an ancient 
amphitheatre. We may observe, by the way, tliat representa¬ 
tions of hunting and of combats between wild beasts are 
common subjects of the paintings of Pompeii. A combat 
between a lion and a horse, and another, between a bear and 
a bull, have been found depicted in the amphitheatre. The 
velarium, or awning, is advertised in all the inscriptions yet 
found which give notice of public games. Athletse and spar¬ 
siones appear in no other. We learn from Seneca that the^ 
perfumes were disseminated by being mixed with boiling water, 
and then placed in the centre of the amphitheatre, so that the 
scents rose with the steam, and soon became diffused through¬ 
out the building. There is some reason to suppose that the 
completion and dedication of the baths preceded the destruc¬ 
tion of the city but a short time, from the inscription being 
found perfect on the wall of the baths, for it was the custom 
to write these notices in the most public places, and after a 
very short season they were covered over by others, as one 
billsticker defaces the labours of his predecessors. '1 his is 
abundantly evident even in the present ruined state of the 
town, especially at the corners of the principal streets, where 
it is easy to discover one inscription painted over another. 
But to return to the Baths. They occupy almost an entire 
island, forming an irregular quadrangle; the northern front, 
facing to the Street of the Baths, being about 162 feet in 
length, the southern front about 93 feet, and the average 
depth 174 feet. They are divided into three separate and 
distinct compartments, one of which was appropriated to the 
fireplaces and to the servants of the establishment; the other 
two were occupied each by a set of baths, contiguous to each 
other, similar and adapted to the same purposes, and supplied 
with heat and water from the same furnace and from the 


156 


POMPEII. 


same reservoir. Tt is conjectured that the most spacious of 
them was for the use of the men, the lesser for that of the 
women. The apartments and passages are paved with white 
marble in mosaic. It appears, from Varro and Vitruvius, 
that baths for men and women were originally united, as well 
for convenience as economy of fuel, but were separated after¬ 
wards fur the preservation of morals, and had no communica¬ 
tion except that from the furnaces. We shall call these the 
old Baths by way of distinction, and because they were first 
discovered; but in reality, the more recently discovered 
Stabian Baths may probably be the more ancient. 

It should be observed here that the old Pompeian tlierma 
are adapted solely to the original purposes of a bath, namely, 
a place for bathing and washing. They cannot therefore 
for a moment be compared to the baths constructed at Rome 
during the period of the empire, of which such magnificent 
remains may still be seen at the Baths of Diocletian, and 
especially at those of Caracalla. In these vast establishments 
the bath formed only a part of the entertainment provided. 
There were also spacious porticoes for w^'alking and conversing, 
halls and courts for athletic games and gladiatorial* combats, 
apartments for the lectures and recitations of philosophers, 
rhetoricians, and poets. In short, they formed a sort of vast 
public club, in which almost every species of amusement was 
provided. In the more recently discovered baths, called the 
Thernife StabianaB, which will be described further on, there 
is indeed a large quadrangular court, or palaestra, which may 
have served for gymnastic exercises, and among others for the 
game of ball, as appears from some large balls of stone having 
been found in it. Yet even this larger establishment makes 
but a very slight approach to the magnificence and luxury of 
a Roman bath. 

The piscina, or reservoir of the old Pompeian baths, is 
separated from the baths themselves by the street (W) which 
opens into the north-western corner of the Forum, now 
called Vicolo delle Terme. The pipes which communicated 
between the reservoir and the bath passed over an arch (/«) 
thrown across the street. This arch was perfect wdieu the 
excavation was made; now only the shoulders remain, in 
which the pipes above mentioned are still visible. There 
were three entrances to the furnaces which heated the warm 



DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 157 

and vaj)onr baths. The chief one opened upon a court (r) of 
an irregular figure, fit for containing wood and other neces¬ 
saries for the use of the establishment, covered in part by a 
roof, the rafters of which rested at one end on the lateral 
walls and at the other on two columns constructed with 
small pieces of stone. From hence a very small staircase 


Plan of the Baths. 

led to the furnaces and to the upper part of the baths. 
Another entrance led to a small room (h) (prcefiirnium), into 
which projects the mouth of a furnace (^). In this room 
were the attendants on the furnace, or stokers { fornacarii), 
whose duty it was to keep up the fires. Here was found a 
quantity of pitch, used by the furnace-men to enliven the 











158 


POMPEII. 


fires. The stairs in the room (h) led np to the coppers. The 
third entrance led from the apodyteriiim of the men’s baths 
by means of a corridor {x). It is to be remarked that there 
is no communication between these furnaces and the bath of 
the women, which was heated from them. The furnace was 
round, and had in the lower part of it two pipes, which trans¬ 
mitted hot air under the pavements and between the walls of 
the vapour-baths, uhich were built hollow for that purpose. 
Close to the furnace, at the distance of four inches, a round 
vacant space still remains, in which was placed the copper 
{caldarium) for boiling water; near which, with the same in¬ 
terval between them, was situated the copper for warm water 
(tepidarium ); and at the distance of two feet from this was 
the receptacle (k) for cold water (frigidarimn), which was 
square, and plastered round the interior like the piscina or* 
reservoir before mentioned. A constant communication was 
maintained between these vessels, so that as fast as hot water 
was drawn off from the caldarium, the void was supplied from 
the tepidarium, which being already considerably heated, did 
but slightly reduce the temperature of the hotter boiler. The 
tepidarium, in its turn, was supplied from the piscina, and 
that from the aqueduct; so that the heat which was not taken 
up by the first boiler passed on to the second, and instead of 
being wasted, did its office in preparing the contents of the 
second for the higher temperature which it was to obtain in 
the first. It is but lately that this principle has been intro¬ 
duced into modern furnaces, but its use in reducing the con¬ 
sumption of fuel is well known. It is necessary to apprize 
the reader that the terms frigidarium, tepidarium, and 
caldarium, are applied to the apartments in which the cold, 
tepid, and hot baths are placed, as well as to those vessels in 
which the operation of heating the water is carried on. The 
furnace and the coppers were placed between the men’s baths 
and the women’s baths, as near as possible to both, to avoid 
the waste of heat consequent on transmitting the heated fluids 
through a length of pipe. The coppers and reservoir were 
elevated considerably above the baths, to cause the water to 
flow more rapidly into them. 

The men’s baths had three public entrances (a, o, and p). 
Entering at the principal one (p), which opens to the Vicolo 
delle Terme, we descend three steps into (m) the vestibule, 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


159 

cortile, or portico of the baths, along three sides of which 
runs a portico {ambulacrum). The seats which are to be 




t5 


seen arranged round the walls were for the slaves who ac¬ 
companied their masters to the baths, and for the servants of 























160 


P03IPEII. 


the baths themselves, to whom also the apartment (Z) appears 
to have been appropriated which opens on the court but 
extends backward from it. In this court was found a sword 
with a leather sheath, and the box for the quadrans. or 
piece of money which was paid by each visitor. It is pro¬ 
bable that the sword belonged to the balneator or keej^er of 
the Thermae. The door (o) which opens on the Street 
of the Forum leads also into the same vestibule. By means 
of a corridor we proceed through the passage (2) into the 
apodyterium, or undressing room (6), w’hich is also accessible 
by the corridor (a) from the street now called the Strada 
delle Terme, or Street of the Baths. In this corridor alone 
were found upwards of five hundred lamps, and upwards of a 
thousand were discovered in various parts of the baths dur¬ 
ing the excavations. Of these the best were selected, and 
the workmen were ordered to destroy the lemainder. The 
greater number were of terra-cotta ; some had an impression 
of the graces on them, and others the figure of Harpocrates 
—both of inferior execution. The ceiling of this passage is 
decorated with stars. The apodyterium has three scats, 
marked b, d in the two cuts of sections, made of lava, with a 
step to place the feet on. Holes (a) still remain in the wall, 
in which pegs were fixed, for the bathers to hang up their 
clothes. This chamber k stuccoed from the cornice to the 
ground ; it is highly finished, and coloured yellow. The 
cornice is of large dimensions, and, has something of an 
Egyptian character; below it is carved a frieze, composed of 
lyres, dolphins, chim^erae and vases in relief, upon a red 



Ornameuted frieze in the Apodyterium. 


ground. In the centre of the end of the room is a very 
small opening or recess (c), once covered with a piece of 
glass: in this recess, as is plain from its smokiness, a lamp 
has been placed. In the archivolt, or vaulted roof, imme¬ 
diately over the recess is a window marked e in the trans- 




DESCKIPTION OF BATHS. 


161- 


verse section, two feet eight inches high and three feet eight 
inches broad, closed by a single large pane of cast glass, two- 
fifths of an inch thick, fixed into the wall, and ground on one 
side, to prevent persons on the roof from looking into the 
bath: of this glass many fragments were found in the ruins. 
This is an evident proof that glass windows were in use 
among the ancients. Underneath the window a large mask 
is moulded in stucco, with curling hair and a most venerable 
flowing beard. Water is sculptured flowing from the locks of 
hair, and on each side two Tritons, with vases on their shoul¬ 
ders, are flghting; there are also dolphins, which encircle with 



Transverse section of the Apodyterium. 

their tails the figures of children struggling to disengage 
themselves. All these are ornaments appropriate to baths, 
and of a whimsical invention to symbolize water and bathing. 
The floor is paved with white marble worked in mosaic, and 
the ceiling appears to have been divided into w^hite panels 
within red borders. It has six doors; one leads to the prae- 
furnium, marked h in the plan ; another into the small room, 
perhaps destined for a wardrobe; the third, by a narrow 
passage {a) to the Street of the Baths; the fourth to the tepi- 
darium (d); the fifth to the frigidarium (c); and the sixth 
along the corridor (2) to the vestibule or portico of the bath. 

The frigidarium (c), or cold bath, is a round chamber, 
incrusted with yellow stucco, with indications here and there 
of green, with a ceiling in the form of a truncated cone, 
which appears to have been painted blue. Near the top is a 
window, marked / in the section, by which it was lighted. In 

M 














162 


POMPEn. 


tlie comice, whicli is coloured red, is modelled in stucco a 
chariot race of Cupids, preceded by Cupids on horseback and 
on foot. 



The plinth or base of the wall is entirely of marble. The 
entrance is by the undressing-room. There are four niches 
{gg), disposed at equal distances, painted red above and blue 
below. In these niches (scholae) wero seats for the conve¬ 
nience of the bathers. The basin (alveus) is twelve feet ten 
inches in diameter and not much more than a yard deep, and is 
entirely lined with white marble. Two marble steps facili¬ 
tate the descent into it, and at the bottom is a sort of cushion 
(pulvinus), also of marble, to enable those who bathed to sit 
down. The water ran into this bath in a large stream, 
through a spout or lip of bronze four inches wide, placed in 
the wall at the height of three feet seven inches from the 
edge of the basin. At the bottom is a small outlet for the 
purpose of emptying and cleansing it, and in the rim there 











The tepidarium (d), or warm chamber, was so called from 
a warm, but soft and mild temperature, which prepared the 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 163 

is a waste pipe to carry off the superfluous water. This 
frigidarium is remarkable for its preservation and beauty. 


















164 POMPEII. 

bodies of tbe bathers for the more intense heat which they 
were to undergo in the vapour and hot baths; and, vice 



versa, softened the trans’tion from the hot bath to the ex¬ 
ternal air. The wall is divided into a number of niches or 


Telamones in the Tepidarium. 











































DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


165 


compartments by Telamones,* two feet bigb, in bigh relief, 
and supporting a rich cornice. These are male, as Carya¬ 
tides are female statues placed to perform the office of 
pillars. By the Greeks they were named Atlantes, from the 
well-known fable of Atlas supporting the heavens. Here 
they are made of terra-cotta, or baked clay, incrusted with 
the finest marble stucco. Their only covering is a girdle 
round the loins; they have been painted flesh-colour, with 
black hair and beards : the moulding of the pedestal and the 
baskets on their heads were in imitation of gold; and the 
pedestal itself, as well as the w^all behind them and the 
niches for the reception of the clothes of the bathers, were 
coloured to resemble red porphyry. Six of these niches 
are closed up without any apparent reason. 

The ceiling is worked in stucco, in low relief, with scat¬ 
tered figures and ornaments of little flying genii, delicately 
relieved on medallions, with foliage carved round them. 
The ground is painted, sometimes red and sometimes blue. 
The room was lighted by a window two feet six inches high 
and three feet wide, in the bronze frame of which were found 
set four very beautiful panes of glass fastened by small nuts 
and screws, very ingeniously contrived, with a view to re¬ 
move the glass at pleasure. In this room was found a brazier, 
seven feet long and two feet six inches broad, made entirely 
of bronze, with the exception of an iron lining. The two 



front legs are winged sphinxes, terminating in lions’ paws; 
the two other legs are plain, being intended to stand against 

* So called from the Greek r\rjvai, to endure. The etymology of Atlas is 
the same. 











166 


POMPEII. 


the wall. The bottom is formed with bronze bars, on which 
are laid bricks supporting pumice-stones for the reception of 
charcoal. There is a sort of false battlement worked on the 
rim, and in the middle a cow is to be seen in high relief. 
Three bronze benches also w^ere found, alike in form and 
pattern. They are one foot four inches high, one foot in 
width, and about six feet long, supported by four legs, termi¬ 
nating in the cloven hoofs of a cow, and ornamented at the 
upper ends with the heads of the same animal. Upon the 



One of the three bronze seats found in the Tepidarium. 


seat is inscribed, M. NIGIDIUS. VACCULA. P. S. Varro, 
in his book upon rural affairs, tells us that many of the sur¬ 
names of the Eoman families had their origin in pastoral 
life, and especially are derived from the animals to whose 
breeding they paid most attention. As, for instance, the 
Porcii took their name from their occupation as swineherds; 
the Ovini from their care of sheep; the Caprilli, of goats; 
the Equarii, of horses; the Tauri, of bulls, &c. We may 
conclude, therefore, that the family of this Marcus Vaccula 
were originally cowkeepers, and that the figures of cows so 
plentifully impressed on all the articles which he presented 
to the baths are a sort of canting arms, to borrow an expres¬ 
sion from heraldry, as in Eome the family Toria caused a 
bull to be stamped on their money. 

A doorway led from the tepidariuifi into the caldarium, or 
vapour-bath. It had on one side the laconicum, containing 
the vase (c) called labrum. On the opposite side of the room 
was the hot bath {(f) called lavacrum. Here it is necessary to 
refer to the words of Vitruvius as explanatory of the structure 
of the apartments (cap. xi. lib. v.). “ Here should be placed 

the vaulted sweating-room, twice the length of its width, which 
should have at each extremity, on one end the laconicum, made 
as described above, on the other end the hot bath.” This 






DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


167 

apartment is exactly as described, twice the length of its width, 
exclusively of the laconicum* at one end and the hot bath at 
the other. The pavement and walls of the whole were hol- 



* The Laconicwn was so named after the Lacedemonians, who, instead of 
the warm bath, used a dry sweating bath, heated with warm air by means of a 
stove. Strabo, iii. p. 413 ; Dion. Cass. liii. p. 515, seq. . 
































168 poaiPEii. 

lowed to admit tlie heat. Vitruvius never mentions the la- 
conicum as being separated from the vapour-bath; it may 
therefore be presumed to have been always connected with 
it in his time, although in the Thermae constructed by the 
later emperors it appears always to have formed a separate 
apartment. In the baths of Pompeii they are united, and 
adjoin the tepidariiim, exactly agreeing with the descriptions 
of Vitruvius. The laconicum is a large semicircular niche, 
seven feet wide and three feet six inches deep, in the middle 
of which was placed a vase or labrum. The ceiling was 
formed by a quarter of a sphere; it had on one side a circular 
opening (a), one foot six inches in diameter, over which, ac¬ 
cording to Vitruvius, a shield of bronze was suspended, 
whieh, by means of a chain attached to it, could be drawn 
over or drawn aside from the aperture, and thus regulated 
the temperature of the bath. Where the ceiling of the la¬ 
conicum joined the ceiling of the vapom’-bath, there was, 
immediately over the centre of the vase or labrum, a mndow 
(g), three feet five inches wide; and there were two square 
lateral windows in the ceiling of the vapour-bath, one foot 
four inches wide and one foot high, from which the light fell 
perpendicularly on the labrum, as recommended by Vitruvius, 
“ that the shadows of those who surrounded it might not be 
thrown upon the vessel.” 

The labrum (c) was a great basin or round vase of white 
marble, rather more than five feet in diameter, into w^hich 
the hot water bubbled up through a pipe (h) in its centre, and 
served for the partial ablutions of those who took the vapour- 
bath. It was raised about three feet six inches above the 
level of the pavement, on a round base built of small pieces 
of stone or lava, stuccoed and coloured red, five feet six 
inches in diameter, and has within it a bronze inscription, 
which runs thus;— 

GN^O. MELISSiEO. GNJEI. FILIO. APEO. MARCO. STAIO. MARCI. 
FILIO. RUFO. DUUMVIRIS. ITERUM. lURE. DICUNDO. LABRUM. EX 
DECURIONUM DECRETO. EX. PECUXIA. PUBLICA. FACIENDUM. 
CURARUNT. CONSTAT. SESTERTIUM. D.C.C.L. 

Relating that “ CnaBus Melissmus Aper, son of Cnaeus Aper, 
Marcus Status Rufus, son of M. Rufus, duumvirs of justice 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


169 


for the second time, caused the lahrum to be made at the 
public expense, by order of the Decurions. It cost 750 
sesterces ” (about 6/.).* There is in the Vatican a magnificent 
porphyry labrum found in one of the imperial baths; and 
Baccius, a great modern authority on baths, speaks of labra 
made of glass. 

This apartment, like the others, is well stuccoed and 
painted yellow ; a cornice, highly enriched with stucco oriia- 
ments, is supported by fiuted pilasters placed at irregular 
intervals. These are red, as is also the cornice and ceiling 
of the laconicum, which is worked in stucco with little figures 
of boys and animals. The ceiling of the room itself was 



entirely carved with transverse fluting, like that of enriched 
columns, a beautiful ornament, and one but little used for 
this purpose; no other instance occurring except in certain 
ruins of villas on the shores of Castellone, the ancient FormiaB. 
The hot bath (/on the plan) occupied the whole end of the 
room opposite to the laconicum and next to the furnace. It 
was four feet four inches wide, twelve feet long, and one foot 
eight inches deep, constructed entirely of marble, with only 
one pipe to introduce the water, and was elevated two steps 
ibove the floor; while a single step led down into the bath 
tself, forming a continuous bench round it for the convenience 
of the bathers. 

The Eomans, who, according to Vitruvius, called their 
vapour-baths ealdaria, or sudationes concamerataB, constructed 


* Museum Borbonicum, vol. ii. 































170 


POMPEII. 


them with suspended or hollow floors and with hollow walls* 
(d) communicating with the furnace, that the smoke and hot 
air might be spread over a large surface and readily raise 
them to the required warmth. The temperature was regulated 
by the clypeus or bronze shield already described. 

In the Pompeian bath the hollow floors are thus constructed. 
Upon a floor of cement made of lime and pounded bricks 
were built small brick pillars (o), nine inches square and one 
foot seven inches high, supporting strong tiles fifteen inches 
square. The pavement was laid on these and incrusted with 
mosaic. The hollow walls, the void spaces of which com¬ 
municated with the vacuum of the suspended pavement, were 
constructed in the following manner. Upon the walls, solidly 
stuccoed, large square tiles were fastened by means of iron 
cramps. They were made in a curious manner. While the 
clay was moist some circular instrument was pushed through 
it so as to make a hole, at the same time forcing out the clay 
and making a projection or pipe about three inches long on 
the inside of the tile. These being made at the four corners, 
iron clamps passed through them and fastened them to the 
wall, the interval being regulated by the length of the pro¬ 
jections. The sides of the apartments being thus formed, 
were afterwards carefully stuccoed and painted. The vacancy 
in the walls of the Pompeian baths reaches as high as the 
top of the cornice, but the ceilings are not hollow, as in the 
baths which Vitruvius described, and which he distinguishes 



Ornament of the Tepidarium. 


for that reason by the name of concamerataa. The following 
woodcuts will convey an idea of the style of ornament which 

* The Italians call such a floor vespajo, from its resemblance to a wasp’s 
nest. 









DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


171 


is lavished upon the ceilings of the apartments which we 
have just described. The first is a winged child or genius, 



riding on one sea-horse and accompanied by another, preceded 
by a similar child guiding two dolphins. This occupies the 
centre of the ceiling of the tepidarium. Other ornaments 












172 


POMPEII. 


arc dispersed around it, from wliicli we have ^selected some 
of those that are best preserved. The design is generally 
better than the workmanship, for they have not been care¬ 
fully finished, on account, perhaps, of the height at which 
they were to be placed. A curious piece of economy is visible 




Ornaments of the Tepidarium. 


in these decorations. Those low down on the walls are 
executed in relief, but the higher ones are i)ainted as it were 
in a very liquid stucco ; so that the child who sounds a cymbal 
(see the cut above) in one of the medallions, has one leg, 
one arm, and the head of stucco, while the wings, the other 
leg, and the cymbal, which, if also executed in stucco, would 
have been in lower relief, are either laid on with a brush in 
this liquid stucco, or left white when the ground was painted. 
It is so done, that at a certain distance, and to one who does 
not consider it with nicety, the whole appears to bo relieved. 
The same is to be observed in the bow, which has the two 
ends formed of goats’ heads. 

The women’s bath resembles very much that of the men, 
and differs only in being smaller and less ornamented. It is 


































DESCRIPTION OE BATHS. 


173 


heated, as we have already mentioned, by the same fire, and 
supplied with water from the same boilers. Near the entrance 
is an inscription painted in red letters. All the rooms yet 
retain in perfection their vaulted roofs. In the vestibule (t;) 
are seats similar to those which have been described in the 
men’s baths as appropriated to slaves or servants of the esta¬ 
blishment. The robing-room (t) contains a cold bath; it is 
painted with red and yellow pilasters alternating with one 
another on a blue or black ground, and has a light cornice 
of white stucco and a white mosaic pavement with a narrow 
black border. There is accommodation for ten persons to 
undress at the same time. The cold bath is much damaged, the 
wall only remaining of the alveus, which is square, the whole 
incrustation of marble being destroyed. From this room we 
jiass into the tepidarium (s), about twenty feet square, painted 
yellow with red pilasters, lighted by a small window far 
from the ground. This apartment communicates with the 
warm bath (ti), which, like the men’s, is heated by flues 
formed in the floors and walls. There are in this room 
paintings of grotesque design upon a yellow ground, but 
they are much damaged and scarcely visible. The pavement 
is of white marble laid in mosaic. The room {ii) in its 
general arrangement resembles the hot bath of the men; it 
has a labrum (y) in the laconicum, and a hot bath contiguous 
to the furnace, as may be seen by the plan. The hollow 
pavement and the flues in the walls are almost entirely de¬ 
stroyed ; and of the labrum, the foot, in the middle of which 
was a piece of the leaden conduit that introduced the water, 
alone remains. On the right of the entrance into these 
women’s baths is a wall of stone of great thickness and in 
a good style of masonry. 

These baths are so well arranged, with so prudent an 
economy of room and convenient distribution of their parts, 
and are adorned with such appropriate elegance, as to show 
clearly the intellect and resources of an excellent architect. 
At the same time some errors of the grossest kind have been 
committed, such as would be inexcusable in the most igno¬ 
rant workman; as, for instance, the symmetry of parts has 
been neglected where the parts correspond; a pilaster is cut 
off by a door which passes through the middle of it; and 
other mistakes occur which might have been avoided without 


174 


POMPEII. 




difficulty. This strange mixture of good and bad taste, of 
skill and carelessness, is not very easily accounted for, but 
it is of constant recurrence in Pompeii. 

Vitruvius recommends the selecting a situation for baths 
defended from the north and north-west winds, and forming 
windows opposite the south, or if the nature of the ground 
would not permit this, at least towards the south, because 
the hours of bathing used by the ancients being from after 
midday till evening, those who bathed could, by those win¬ 
dows, have the advantage of the rays and of the heat of the 
declining sun. For this reason the Pompeian baths hitherto 
described have the greater part of their windows turned to 
the south, and are constructed in a low part of the city, where 
the adjoining buildings served as a protection to them from 
the inconvenience of the north-west winds. 

From the smallness of the baths just described, it had long 
been conjectured that they could not have been the only 
public establishment of the kind in Pompeii; and this con¬ 
jecture was confirmed by the discovery, in 1854 and four 
following years, of other Thermae on a larger scale than the 
former ones, and more elegantly decorated. They are 
situated in the Street of Holconius, marked 1 on the plan, 
and embrace the whole northern side of it, from the small 
street called the Via del Lupanare on the west (3), to 
the Strada Stabiana on the east (2). They are thus com¬ 
pletely isolated on their southern, eastern, and western sides, 
in each of which there are entrances, while on the north 
they are bounded by private houses. In order to dis¬ 
tinguish them from the previously excavated baths, they 
are sometimes called from their size the Great Thermje, 
and sometimes, from one of their sides being in the street 
leading to the Gate of Stabise, the Thermae Stabianae. 

We learn some particulars about these baths from an in¬ 
scription on a slab of travertine, found in May, 1857, in a 
small room on their northern side, and now preserved 
in the National Museum.* This inscription records, that 
C. Vulius and P. Aninius, duumvirs for administering jus¬ 
tice, caused a Laconicum and Destrictarium to be made, and 
the Portico and Palsestra to be repaired, in compliance with 


Pomp, Ant. Hist., vol. ii. p. 647, vseq. 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 175 

a decree of the Decurions, with the money which they were 
to lay out according to law, either on some public monu¬ 
ment, or in the exhibition of games, and that the same 
duumvirs inspected and approved the works after their com¬ 
pletion. The original runs as follows :— 

C. VVLIUS. C. F. P. ANINIVS. C. F. II. V. I. D. 
LACONICUM. ET. DESTKICTARIUM. 

FACIUND. ET. PORTICUS. ET. PALAilSTR. 

REFICIUNDA. LOCARUNT. EX. D. D. EX. 

EA. PEQVNIA. QUOD. EOS. E. LEGE. 

IN. LUDOS. AVT. IN. MONUMENTO. 

CONSUMERE. OPORTUIT. FACIVN. 

COERARUNT, EIDEMQUE. PROBARU. 



From this inscription we may learn that these alterations 
and improvements had been completed before the destruction 
of Pompeii; and indeed, antiquarians infer from its style 
and from the character of the letters, that it must he about a 


































































POMPEIT. 


17t) 

century and a half older than that event, and cannot there¬ 
fore have any reference to the repair of damage occasioned 
by the earthquake of a.d. 63.* If this be so, and if the in¬ 
scription is to be referred to about the year b.c. 70, then we 
must assign a tolerably ancient date to these baths, since the 
circumstance of the Portico and Palestra requiring repair, 
shows that the Thermae must have been in existence long 
previously to that date. We are told indeed that Palaestrae 
did not become common in Italy till the reign of Augustus; 
but this, as Overbeck remarks, does not exclude theii: 
existence absolutely and altogether, and especially in towns 
of Greek origin. We may rather infer that these Thermae, 
like the Temple of Hercules in the Triangular Forum, 
belonged to the ancient and more Grecian portion of Pom¬ 
peii ; and on the whole it seems probable that they were 
anterior in date to the baths previously discovered and 
already described. 

The principal entrance to the Thermas Stabianae is in the 
Street of Holconius. After passing the prothyrum, or vesti¬ 
bule (7), which has nothing requiring notice, the visitor finds 
himself in a large quadrangular court (12, and 10 at the 
angles), growing however gradually rather narrower towards 
the fmdher end, from the inward inclination of the western 
side. On its southern and eastern, and partly on its 
northern side, this court is surrounded with a portico 
(9) about nine feet broad, supported by pillars of no 
regular order, but resembling the Doric more than any 
other. They are covered with stucco, having their lower 
third painted red and the rest white. They are not 
actually fluted, but have stripes resembling channels." Of 
these columns there are nineteen on the right, or eastern 
side, seven on the south, besides one let into the wall, and on 
the north only one. Their capitals, ornamented with leaves, 
supported a cornice admirably wrought in stucco, a small 
portion of which, preserved almost in its original state, will 
convey to the spectator an idea of what it must have been 
when perfect. The walls within the portico are painted in 
red compartments surrounded with yellow borders. The 
figures (11) round the outside of the portico mark depressions 


* Overbeck, Pompeii, ^-c., b. i. s. 205. 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 177 

and holes in which the dirt was collected, and by which the 
rainwater from the roof ran off. 

The northern side of the portico, towards the left, forms a 
sort of crypto-porticns, with two rooms or loggie looking upon 
the palaestra. The first of these rooms (19) can be entered 
only from the portico, but has a large window towards the 
palaestra and another smaller one looking into the adjoining 
apartment. In this room was found a handsome bronze 
brazier, very much resembling that found in the tepidarium 
of the other Thermae, and having like it the inscription 
M. NIGIDIUS, P.S., with the image of a little cow, standing 
apparently for the surname Vaccula. This brazier, however, 
affords no clue as to the destination of the room in which it 
was found. It was evidently not in its proper jdace, since 
a small room with two large open windows was quite unfitted 
to be warmed by such an apparatus.* The next apartment 
to this is a loggia (18) open to the palaestra, from which it is 
entered by a step. It was probably intended for spectators 
of the games. The walls are white, and the floor paved with 
opus Signinum. 

It cannot be doubted that the large open court formed the 
palEestra mentioned in the inscription. That it was destined 
for athletic sports and exercises is evident, as well from the 
size of its area as from the discovery in it of two large ston’e 
spheres or balls. It is about 44 yards long and 27 broad in 
the middle. It has no pavement, but a floor of hard or 
beaten earth. Along its west side, a little raised above the 
level of the ground, runs a strip of tufo pavement, about a 
yard and a half broad. On this were found the large and 
heavy stone balls or globes just mentioned, which were 
probably intended to be rolled along it in some game of 
strength or skill. 

We will now proceed to describe the buildings which sur¬ 
round this court or palrestra. The south side, by which we 
have entered, has little else behind the portico but shops 
facing to the Street of Holconius (marked in the plan 
4, 5, and 6), and will not require any particular descrip¬ 
tion. The left, or western side, is almost entirely engrossed 
by a large natatio^ or swimming bath (13), with its appur- 

* See Overbeck, B. i. S. 213. Cf. Pomp. Antiq. Hist. t. ii. j). 050. 

N 


178 


. POMPEII. 


tenauces. The oblong basin is about 50 feet long and half 
that breadth. It has steps to descend into it on all its sides 
except the further one, where there are only a few, intended 
apparently for seats. It is about six and a half feet deep, 
and open to the air. Anciently it w’as lined with slabs of 
white marble, of which only a few now remain. At each 
end of the piscina or hath are square apartments (14, 15), 
exactly similar in arrangement and decoration. Both are 
entered from the palaestra by a large arched doorway, while 
similar doorways lead from the rooms to the steps of the bath. 
The purpose to which these rooms were applied has been th(' 
subject of much speculation; but from their situation and 
arrangement, there can, "we think, be little doubt that they 
were intended for the comfort and convenience of the bathers, 
and probably served as places where they might undress and 
dress themselves, sheltered from the weather and the rays of 
the sun. In the wall that fronts the entrance of each room is 
a square niche, or recess, probably intended for a statue. On 
both sides of these recesses are paintings of females holding 
in their hands large scollop shells or basins, and under 
each niche is a round hole, from which perhaps issued a pipe 
with a jet d'eau. The walls of these apartments are painted 
with landscape and architecture, dancing satyrs, pigmies, 
dolphins, sphinxes, &c. The lower part of the walls to 
about a yard from the floor is not painted, but seems to have 
been covered with slabs of marble, which are now missing. 
The southernmost of these rooms leads into another apart- 
ment*(l6), which has also a door towards the portico. It is a 
plain apartment, with little decoration, and the purpose of it 
cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. Some have called it an 
apodyterium, or stripping room, but its situation seems not at 
all suited for such a purpose. It was much more probably 
the destrictarium mentioned in the inscription before quoted. 
This was an apartment appropriated to the operation of 
scraping off the perspiration and the oil and sand with 
which tho body had been anointed and sprinkled as a pre¬ 
paration for the exercises of the paleestra. The situation of 
the room, close to the place where the game with the balls 
before mentioned was played, seems to favour this supposition. 
The iron hooks observed in this apartment may have served to 
hold the strigilcs witli which this operation was performed. 


DESCRIPTION OP BATHS. 


179 


These imjJieinents were of bronze or iron, of various forms, as 
will be seen from the annexed cuts. They were applied to the 



Strigiles. 


body much in the same way as we see a piece of hoop ap¬ 
plied to a sweating horse. The operation was rather a rough 
one, and, as we learn from Suetonius, the Emperor Augustus 
suffered from having been too rudely handled. 

The outside walls of these apartments on the left hand 
side of the palsestra are very richly ornamented with paint¬ 
ings and designs executed in stucco. Fantastic pieces of 
architecture, consisting of tall slender columns with cornices, 
appear to divide the walls into two stories and into various 
compartments, some square, some vaulted. Sometimes are 
seen‘doors and steps which seem to lead into inner apart¬ 
ments. There are projecting balconies, draperies hanging 
from the cornices, garlands suspended from pillar to pillar, 
and other light and cheerful, but exceedingly fantastic de¬ 
corations. Over the doorway of the first room adjoining the 
natatio is a well-preserved figure of a Jupiter in stucco. The 
king of gods and men is sitting on a square stone, on which 
he rests with his left arm, whilst in his right hand he holds 
his sceptre. Before him, on a short pillar, sits his eagle. 
On the northern wall are also the remains of two or three 
female figures in relief. 

To the north of the Natatio and its adjoining apartment 
is a long passage (29) with an entrance into the palaestra 
from the Vico del Lupanare. It communicates with another 
entrance on the south (50). On the other side of the Baths 


180 


POMPEII. 


is an entrance from the Strada Stabiana into the corridor 
(43), and another into that marked 42 and 45. 



The side of the palaestra opposite to that just described 
contains the wai’m baths. They consist, like the baths pre- 


West Side of Siabian B iths. 
























DESCRIPTION OP BATHS. 


181 


viously discovered, of two complete suites of apartments, 
each having an apodyterium, frigidarium, tepidarium, and 
caldarium, and between them the furnace (47) by which both 
suites were heated. This arrangement of the furnace seems 
to show that both these setsof baths were used simultaneously; 
and as it does not appear to have been the Eoman custom to 
have distinct baths for the richer and poorer classes, we are 
naturally led to the conclusion that one of these sets was 
intended for men and the other for women. Here, however, 
we are met by the objection that neither of the sets is com¬ 
pletely isolated and private, as is the case with the baths 
assigned to the women in the previously discovered 'Hiermce^ 
but that both sets have an entrance from the palmstra. 
Hence some writers, like Michaelis, have been led to con¬ 
clude that the set which occupies the further or northern 
part of this side of the building, which is smaller and less 
decorated than the other, formed at one time the only set, 
to which were afterwards added the larger and more elegant 
baths to the south of them. Overbeck has shown* that sucii 
a theory is inconsistent with the whole plan of the building. 
It assumes, for instance, that half the eastern portico must at 
one time have adjoined buildings which did not belong to 
the establishment, a thing not at all probable. Again, if we 
suppose that the area now occupied by the larger set of baths 
was at one time private property, and therefore to be struck 
out of the original ground plan of the establishment, the form 
of the remaining ground plan would be so strange and irre¬ 
gular as to render such a supposition in the highest degree 
improbable. But though we agree with Overbeck in rejecting 
this view, we cannot say that we are entirely satisfied with 
his own. He supposes that both sets of baths were intended 
for the use of men; and that the plan of double baths, instead 
of one large and magnificent one, was adopted from motives 
of economy both in the construction and the heating of them. 
He further explains the different degree of elegance in the 
decoration of the two sets by supposing that the baths were 
in process of restoration, which in the southern set had been 
completed, but not in the northern. 

Upon this we must remark that, if both sets of baths had 


Pompeiif (fee., B. i. S. 221, seq. 


182 


POMPEII. 


been intended for men, there would have been a more direct 
communication between them than at j)resent exists. For 
though it is true that each of them is accessible from the 
palaestra, yet, in order to pass from one to the other, such a 
round-about way must be taken as to show plainly that they 
were not intended to be used in common. The rules for the 
separation of the men’s and women’s baths do not appear to 
have been always strictly observed, and were not finally 
established till the time of Hadrian, consequently after the 
destruction of Pompeii. But in the present instance, though 
the women’s baths are not so strictly isolated as they are in 
the other Thermae, yet with some common precautions, such 
as keeping the doors leading to them shut, or having door¬ 
keepers, they were sufficiently so to insure perfect decency. 
The arrangement and decoration of the further set of baths 
are so similar to that of what in the other Thermae are agreed 
on all hands to have been the women’s baths, as to make it 
difficult to suppose that they were not applied to the same 
purpose. It may be further remarked that the wall of the 
lobby or corridor (44) which forms the entrance to these baths 
from the palaestra is decorated with a painting of a small 
temple and serpents, intended probably to warn a profane 
intruder of the male sex that he had no business to enter 
those precincts. 

We will now proceed to describe the baths, beginning Avith 
those near the principal entrance of the palaestra, which we 
have assumed to be the men’s baths. Entering the first door 
under the portico on the right, we find ourselves in a sort of 
passage, or prothyrum (30), handsomely painted, and having on 
the left a stone bench. On the right is a door leading into a 
plain apartment (8), with two windows, probably used by the 
attendants. Passing the prothyrum, we enter another long 
l^assage which on the right had an exit to the Street of 
Holconius through a door now walled up, while on the left we 
enter a vaulted apartment (31) more handsomely ornamented 
than any other in these baths. The red walls are decorated 
with various designs, whilst the roof is richly worked in 
stucco, vdth round and octagonal cassettes, or sunken panels, 
in which are variously coloured reliefs, in the former on a blue, 
in the latter on a black ground. The reliefs represent sea- 
monsters and Cupids; while in four larger compartments are 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


183 


female figures partly undraped. This apartment, which seems 
to have been the waiting-room, is paved with marble. It has 
a door leading into the portico of the palaestra, and another 
forming the entrance to a handsome circular bath-room (33), 
lighted by an aperture or lanthorn in the roof. This, which 
was no doubt the cella frigidaria, or cold bath, bears consider¬ 
able resemblance to the apartment destined for* the same use 
in the other baths. In its circumference are four vaulted 
recesses, or niches, large enough to hold a chair. Another 
little niche, opposite to the entrance, was furnished with a 
jet d'eau. All round the basin are steps to descend into it. 
The walls were adorned with stucco ornaments and paintings, 
now much effaced. Of the latter, all that can be made out is 
the figure of a sleeping Venus, with her back turned to the 
spectator. 

From the apartment or waiting-room first described, we 
descend by one step into the apodyterium (32), a large hall 
twelve or thirteen yards long by about ten broad. Four strong 
square pillars projecting from the side walls, and supporting 
two arches of the vaulted roof, divide the chamber into three 
compartments, but of very different sizes, the largest being in 
the middle. A stone bench with a step beneath surrounds 
the room, with the exception of the left side of it, as far as 
the second pillar. Over the bench are niches for depositing 
clothes,* or for perfume jars, &c. They rest upon an abacus, 
like those in the other baths, but the intervals are not orna¬ 
mented with Telamones. In other respects this apodyterium 
is more richly ornamented than the same apartment in the 
baths first excavated. The floor is of marble; the vaulted 
roof is tastefully adorned with ornaments in stucco, but un¬ 
fortunately the greater part of it has fallen in. The orna¬ 
ments consist of square or sexagonal panels, in which 
are rosettes, Cupids, and Bacchic figures. At the sides 
of the arches over the pillars are females holding dol¬ 
phins which terminate in arabesques. The semicircular 
compartments formed by the vaulted roof in the walls of 
entry and exit are also richly adorned with reliefs in stucco. 

A door in the further wall of the apodyterium leads into a 
sort of corridor or passage behind (42), whilst another door on 
the left conducts us into what must have been the tepidarium 
(34;. At the bottom is a large bath, originally lined with 


18-i 


POMPEII. 


marble, whicli seems to have been heated by a stove under¬ 
neath. One of the slabs of marble ajipears to have contained 
a dedicatory inscription to the Emperor Augustus, bearing the 
date of his eleventh consulship, which fell in the second year 
of the Christian era. The slab was placed in the bath with 
the inscription downwards, which has thus left its impression 
in high relief' in the mortar in which it was fixed. There 
is no basin like that just described in the tepidarium of the 
(jther baths. It was probably intended, as Overbeck remarks, 
fiDr those who took a luke-warm bath, by way perhaps of 
preparation for the caldarium. This apartment is also 
adorned with reliefs in stucco, but not so richly as the tepi¬ 
darium of the other baths. The floor, like that of the latter, 
rested on small brick pillars {susj)ensura), thus leaving a 
hollow for the circulation of the warm air. But the whole 
room is in a ruinous condition. 

From the tepidarium a door communicates with the cal¬ 
darium (36), which has also a floor like that just described. 
The hot air from the furnaces beyond, which circulated under 
this apartment, was communicated, of course in a cooler 
stats, to the floor of the tepidarium by means of an opening 
under the doorway. ‘ The arrangement of the caldarium is 
the same as that seen in the earlier discovered baths—a 
labrum at the circular end (35), in the middle the sudatorium, 
with hollow walls besides the suspended floor, and at the 
other end a large basin for the hot bath, having over it three 
niches for statues. Adjoining the northern side of the cal¬ 
darium, but without any visible communication with it, was 
the furnace. The caldarium does not appear to have been 
very richly ornamented, and is now almost in ruins. 

We will now proceed to describe the other set of baths, 
which we have ventured to assign to the women. On the 
northern side of the palfestra, just opposite the principal en¬ 
trance from the Street of Holconius (at 17), stands a female 
terminal figure, with well-executed drapery. It might perhaps 
seem a rather strained inference to assume that this figure 
was intended to denote the purpose to which this part of the 
building was devoted; though in deductions which must in a 
great degree depend upon conjecture, we have sometimes 
seen more far-fetched arguments adduced. However this 
may be, it is certain that this figure stands before one of the 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


185 


principal apartments of this second set of baths, and seems 
to mark their termination towards the west. The entrance 
to them is by a door near the top ( f the eastern side of the 
portico, which leads into the long corridor (44) already men¬ 
tioned having a picture of a temple and snakes. A door at the 
end of this corridor, on the left, leads into a large oblong hall 
(40), having at its western or left extremity a raised basin, des¬ 
tined apparently for the cold bath, with steps to ascend to it. 
The apartment has a bench round it and niches in the wall. 
It was undoubtedly an apodyterium, and bears so striking 
a resemblance to the apodyterium of the women’s baths- ‘in 
the Thermae first discovered, as to afford no slight confirma¬ 
tion to the opinion that it served the same purpose here. 
The apartment, which is well preserved, is much more 
simply decorated than the apodyterium of the ruen’s baths. 
The walls between the bench and the abacus of the niches 
are red, and the remainder white. The vaulted roof has two 
round openings or windows, and there is another over the 
bath. The floor is p^ved with opus Signinum. There are 
two other entrances to this apodyterium^ on the right and 
left, from a long and narrow passage or corridor which runs 
along the whole northern side of the establishment. The 
passage on the right (41) leads from the Street of Stabiee, 
that on the left (48, 48), which is much longer, from the Street 
of the Lupanar. It may be observed that these passages lead 
only into that part of the establishment which we have assigned 
to the women’s baths, thus ensuring their privacy on this side. 
The apartment marked 39 in the plan has no communication 
whatever with the Baths. It has an opening into the Strada 
Stabiana, and was probably a shop. 

A door in the right-hand corner of the apodyterium, close 
to that by which it is entered from the corridor, leads into 
the tepidarium (38). This apartment is very simply decorated. 
The floor, which rests on suspensurcB, is paved with coarse 
white mosaic; the walls are also hollow in order to circulate 
the hot vapour; and even its vaulted roof seems to have had 
a hollow coating of stucco, which, however, has now fallen 
in. A door in the middle of the right-hand side of the 
tepidarium leads into the caldarium (37). This apartment, 
except that it is not so large, corresponds precisely with the 
caldarium already described in the men’s baths and with that 


186 


POMPEII. 


of the iDreviously discovered Thermas. On one of its smaller 
sides, on the left, is a large oblong bath of white marble, in 
a perfect state of preservation, having at the bottom of one 
of its sides a large semicircular aperture for the admission of 
hot water, and above it a bronze tube, capable of being closed 
with a cock, to let in cold water. At the opposite end of the 
hall is the semicircular laconicum, with its lahrum, or large 
round vase of white marble, having a pipe in the middle to till 
it with hot water. The floor and walls of this apartment arc 
also hollow. It is more elegantly decorated than the rooms 
just described. The walls are red, and are picked out with 
little stucco pilasters painted yellow, with white capitals, and 
springing from a narrow marble border. The wall of the la¬ 
conicum is richly adorned with stucco, and has a window 
lighted from the corridor leading into the palasstra. The floor 
is of fine white mosaic. Between this caldarium and that of 
the other set, or men’s baths, is situated the furnace for heating 
both. 

Behind the left or western half of j;he northern side of the 
palaestra lies another set of rooms, the destination of some 
of which is sufficiently obvious, while that of others is diffi¬ 
cult to be explained. This suite of apartments is entered by 
a long passage (21) from the Street of the Lupanar, leading 
to a room (22) abutting upon the western end of the women’s 
apodyterium, and communicating with the palaestra by a door 
on the right. At the further end of this room is a staircase 

(24) , which led to an upper story. On the left-hand side of 
the passage, coming from the street, are four small rooms 
(28) adjoining one another, fitted up as private baths, or what 
the ancients called solia. Beyond these, a passage on the left 

(25) leads into a good-sized room (26), having round it a sort 
of channel or canal. It is supposed to have been a latrina. 
The room beyond, already mentioned as adjoining the apody¬ 
terium and having an entrance into the palaestra, has a small 
compartment, or cabinet (23), the use of which it is not easy 
to determine. On the left was a steep staircase leading to an 
upper story. The space marked 27 appears to have been 
unoccupied. 

On the right-hand side of the long passage leading from 
the Via del Lupanare, and close to the entrance, are three 
rooms, the destination of which is uncertain. The first may 


DESCRIPTION OF BATHS. 


187 


possibly have been the lodge of the ostiarius or porter. The 
second has steps leading down to what appears to be a sort of 
cellar, but is thought to have given admission to the canal 
or drain by which the water of the baths was carried off. 
The destination of the third room (20) cannot even be con¬ 
jectured. 

Before concluding this account of the Stabian baths, we 
should mention that under the portico, near the entrance to 
the men’s baths, was fmmd a sun-dial, consisting as usual of 
a half circle inscribed in a rectangle, and with the ^omon 
in perfect preservation. It was supported by lion’s feet and 
elegantly ornamented. On its base was an Oscan inscription, 
which has been interpreted as follows by Minervini: Marius. 
Atinius, Marii filius, quaestor, ex multatitia pecunia conyentus 
decreto fieri mandavit. That is: the Quaestor M. Atinius, in 
accordance with a decree of the assembly, caused it to be 
made out of money levied by fines. The title of “ Quaestor 
seems to show that this inscription must have been written 
after the occupation of Pompeii by the Romans, but at the 
same time at a period when the Oscan tongue continued to be 
generally spoken.* The fines alluded to were probably levied 
for breaches of the rules to be observed in the palaestra. 

* Breton, Pompeii, p. 159. Overbeck however is of opinion that the 
Pompeians had magistrates called Quaestors before the Roman occupation; but 
tliis does not seem very probable. 



Vases for Perfumes. 



188 


POMPEII. 



Figure with a mask, from a painting in Pompeii. 

CHAPTEE VIT. 

THE THEATRES. 

The regular drama was not of indigenous growth, and never 
took firm root in Italy. It was unknown until about two 
centuries and a half before Christ, when Grecian literature 
began to be cultivated, and never rose to be more than a 
feeble transcript of the original. The Eomans were first led 
to theatrical amusements as a means of appeasing the anger 
of the gods, having been before only acquainted with gym¬ 
nastic exercises and circus races. During a desolating pesti¬ 
lence, which seemed proof against all remedies, they sent for 
liistriones from Etruria, b.c. 364. These, however, seem to 
have been merely dancers, or tumblers rather, such as are 
represented on the Etruscan monuments. The oldest spoken 
plays, the Fabulas Atellanae, were borrowed from the Osci, of 
whom we often have had to speak, and appear to have been 
rude improvisatory attempts at rustic satire. It was more 
than 500 years after the era usually assigned to the founda¬ 
tion of Eome, that Livius Andronicus first attempted to 



THE THEATRES. 


189 


imitate the Grecian tragedy. He was followed by Ennius 
and Naivius, and, later, by a number of writers in the Au¬ 
gustan age and under the emperors; but, with the exception 
of some fragments, and the tragedies ascribed to Seneca, all 
their w'orks are lost. This is the less to be lamented, because 
it does not appear that a single Eoman tragedy was ever 
composed upon a Eoman subject. 

In the comic department the Eomans displayed more origi¬ 
nality. The Fabulse Atellanae were so popular, that youths of 
noble family engaged in the representation of them; and, in 
consequence, the professional actors employed in them were 
exempted from the ignominy which attached to other theatri¬ 
cal artists. Similar to these probably, but more polished, 
were the Mimi. These were composed in verse, in the Latin 
language, and sometimes were delivered extempore. Laberius 
and Syrus are the two most celebrated writers of them. The 
former was compelled by a request, equivalent to a command, 
from Julius Caesar to appear on the stage, although his com¬ 
pliance was attended with the loss of civil rights; and the 
prologue which he spoke on this occasion is still extant, and 
expresses nobly and feelingly his sense of the injury. Time 
has left us no specimens of either of these species of composi¬ 
tion ; and the scanty notices which remain concerning them 
do not enable us to form a clear idea of their nature. 

The regular comedy of the Eomans, which is preserved to 
us in Plautus and Terence, was for the most part palliata, 
that is, it appeared in a Grecian dress and represented 
Grecian manners. But they had also a comoedia togata, so 
called from the Eoman dress which was worn in it. Afranius 
was the principal writer in this walk. We have no remains 
wliatever of his writings, nor can we determine whether the 
togatce were original comedies of new invention, or merely 
Grecian comedies adapted to Eoman manners. The latter 
case is the more probable, yet it is not easy to conceive how 
Attic comedies could well be adapted to local circumstances 
of so different a nature. The way of living of the Eomans 
was in general serious and grave, during the republic. The 
diversity of ranks was politically marked in a very decided 
manner, and the'wealth of private individuals was frequently 
not inferior to that of princes; women lived much more in 
society, and acted a much more independent part with thorn 


190 


POMPEII. 


than among the Greeks; and from this independence they 
fully shared in the general refinement of manners, and the 
corruption by which that refinement was accompanied. In 



Comic Scene from a Painting in the house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeii. 


these points, Athenian habits were the antipodes of Roman; 
and with such essential differences between them, an original 
Roman comedy would have been a most valuable production, 



Comic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. 


and would have given us that insight into the private feelings 
and private life of this remarkable people, which is of all 
knowledge the most curious and important. That this, how- 


































THE THEATRES. 


191 


ever, was not accomplished in the comoedia togata, the in¬ 
different manner in which it is mentioned by the ancients 
will hardly allow us to doubt. Quintilian himself informs 
us that the Latin literature “ was lamest in comedy.” * 
Vitruvius has given some minute directions, strongly illus¬ 
trative of the importance of the subject, for choosing a proper 
situation for a theatre. “ When the Forum is finished, a 
healthy situation must be sought for, wherein the theatre 
may be erected to exhibit sports on the festival days of the 
immortal gods. For the spectators are detained in their 
seats by the entertainment of the games, and remaining quiet 
for a long time, their pores are opened, and imbibe the 
draughts of air, which, if they come from marshy or other¬ 
wise unhealthy places, will pour injurious humours into the 
body. Neither must it front the south; f for when the sun 
fills the concavity, the inclosed air, unable to escape or circu¬ 
late, is heated, and then extracts and dries up the juices of the 
body. It is also to be carefully observed that the place be 
not unfitted to transmit sound, but one in which the voice 
may expand as clearly as possible.” J 

It is probable that the natural sw^eep of some dell, hollowed 
out in a hill-side, furnished the original design of a theatre ; 



Comic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. , 

and the Greeks always availed themselves, if possible, of a 
hill-side, or some locality which lightened the labour of the 

* The above sketch of the Roman theatre is compressed from Schlegel’s 
Lectures on Dramatic Literature, sect. viii. 

, t Which, however, is the case with the theatre of Pompeii. 

% Vitruv. V. 3. 





















192 


POMPEII. 


building. At Nyssa the theatre occupies an angle in a ravine 
partially filled up ; and it is said that the only instances now 
known of Grecian theatres budt in a plain, are those of 
Mantineia and Megalopolis, and a small one in Asia Minor.* 
The Koman theatres, on the other hand, were usually elevated 
upon arches, wherever a suitable situation could be found, 
without regard to economical considerations. That at Pom¬ 
peii, however, is hollowed out of a hill; which may lead 
us to conclude that it was originally founded by a Greek 
population, though it was evidently reconstructed after the 
Koman occupation. 

In a Eoman theatre the orchestra was bounded towards 
the cavea by a semicircle. Comj)lete the circle, draw the 
diameters BB, HH, perpendicular to each other, and inscribe 
four equilateral triangles, whose vertices shall fall severally 
upon the ends of the diameters; the twelve angles of the 



triangles will divide the circumference into twelve equal 
l)ortions. The side of the triangle opposite to the angle at 
B v/ill be parallel to the diameter HH, and determines the 
jDlace of the scene, as HH determines the front of the stage, 

* Stuart’s vol. iv.: O.i tlie Giec'.c Theatre, p. 33. 















THE THEATRES. 


193 


or pulpitum. By this construction the stage is brought nearer 
to the audience, and made considerably deci)or than in a Greek 
theatre; its depth being determined at a quarter of the dia¬ 
meter of the orchestra, which itself was usually a third or 
somewhat more of the diameter of the whole building. The 
length of the stage was twice the diameter of the orchestra. 
The increased depth of the stage was rendered necessary by 
the greater number of persons assembled on it, the chorus 
and musicians being placed here by the Romans. A further 
consequence of the construction is, that the circumference of 
the cavea could not exceed one hundred and eighty degrees. 
Sometimes, however, the capacity of the theatre was increased 
by throwing the stage further back, and continuing the seats 
in right lines perpendicular to the diameter of the orchestra. 
This is the case in the great theatre at Pompeii, and seems 
also to indicate that it was originally of Greek construction. 
Within the orchestra were circular ranges of seats for the 
senate and other distinguished persons, leaving a level plat¬ 
form in the centre. The seven angles which fall within the 
circumference of the orchestra mark the places at which stair¬ 
cases up to the first prsecinctio, or landing, were to be placed ; 
those leading from thence to the second, if there were more 
than one, were placed intermediately opposite to the centre of 
each cuneus. The number of staircases, whether seven, five, 
or three, of course depended on the size of the theatre. In 
the great theatres of Rome, the space between the orchestra 
and first prcecinctio, usually consisting of fourteen seats, was 
reserved for the equestrian order, tribunes, &c.: all above these 
were the seats of the plebeians. Women were appointed by 
Augustus to sit in the portico, which encompassed the whole. 
The lowest range of seats was raised above the area of the 
orchestra one-sixth of its diameter; the height of each seat 
.is directed not to exceed one foot four indies, nor to be less 
than one foot three. The breadth is not to exceed two teet 
four inches, nor to be less than one foot ten. The stage, to 
consult the convenience of those who sit in the orchestra, is 
only elevated five feet, less than half the height given to the 
Grecian stage. The ancient scene was not, like that of the 
modern stage, capable of being shifted. It consisted of a 
solid building {scena stahilis), representing the fa 9 ade of a 
royal palace, and adorned with the richest architectural orna- 

o 


191 


POMPEII. 


ments. It was built of stone, or brick cased with marble, 
and had three doors, of which the middle one, called porta 
regia, larger and handsomer than the others, was supposed to 
form the entrance to the palace. This was used only in the 
representation of tragedies, and then only by the principal 
personages of the drama. The door in the right wing was 
appropriated to inferior personages, and that on the left to 
foreigners or persons coming from abroad. In our plan, the 
five angles of the triangles not yet disposed of determine the 
disposition of the scene. Opposite the centre one are the 
regal doors; on each side are those by which the secondary 
characters entered. Behind the scene, as in the Greek 
theatre, there were apartments for the actors to retire into; 
and under it were vaults or cellars, which, as in the modern 
stage, served for the entrance of ghosts, or the appliance of 
any needful machinery. The proscenium, or space between 
the orchestra and the scene, answering to our stage, though 
deeper than the Greek, was of no great depth, which was 
not required for the performance of ancient dramas, in which 
only a few personages appeared on the stage at once. Be¬ 
sides, in the absence of any roof, the voice of the performers 
would have been lost if the stage had been too deep. That 
of Pompeii is only about twenty-one feet broad, though its 
length is one hundred and nine. Along the front of the 
stage, and between it and the orchestra, runs a tolerably deep 
linear opening, the receptacle for the aulceum, or curtain, the 
fashion of which was just the reverse of ours, as it had to be 
depressed instead of elevated when the play began. This 
operation, performed by machinery of which we have no clear 
account, was called aulceum premere, as in the well known 
line of Horace : *— 

Quatuor aut pluies aulaea premuntur in horas. 

It should however be mentioned that the ancients seem also 
to have had moveable scenery (scena ductilis), to alter the 
appearance of the permanent scene when required. This must 
have consisted of painted board or canvas. 

Another method of illusion was by the use of masks. 
These were rendered necessary by the vastness of the ancient 
theatres, and the custom, of performing in the open air. 
* p]pp. ii. 1, 189. 


THE THEATRES. 


195 


Under these circumstances the more distant spectators could 
neither have distinguished the features of the actor nor heard 
his voice. To obviate these inconveniences masks were in¬ 
vented, which not only by their exaggerated features and ex¬ 
pression could be discerned in the remotest part of the 
theatre, but also seem to have been contrived to assist the voice 
of the actor, and render it audible from afar. These masks 
were brought to a great degree of beauty and perfection, so 
that, as may be seen at Pompeii in several instances, they 
were frequently imitated by architects in cornices and 
mouldings, and by artists in paintings of festoons and other 
ornaments. It will not therefore be out of place here to 
give some account of their origin and nature. 

We have not the means, nor would it be to the purpose, to 
describe the earliest form of the mask, or to trace its pro¬ 
gress. Ultimately it was formed of brass or some sonorous 
material, or the mouth at least lined with metal, so as to 
collect and reverberate the voice • with something like the 
power of a speaking-trumpet. The Greeks called it TrpocrwTreioj/, 



Masks, Dwarf, and Monkey, from a painting. 


the Latins persona, a personando, from resounding, “ because 
the head and mouth being entirely covered by it, and only 
one passage left for the voice, this cannot be dissipated, but 
being collected into a body is thus rendered clearer and more 
sonorous.”* Masks were made to contain the whole head, 
covered with hair of colour suitable to the characters they 
were meant to represent, and seem to have been coloured, for 
minute directions are given as to the complexion and smooth 
or wrinkled character of the face. No doubt can exist as to 
the minute attention paid to this subject by the Greeks, for 
Julius Pollux enumerates no less than twenty-six classes of 

* Aul. Cell. V. 7. 













POMPEII. 


196 

tragic masks, eacli distinginsked by wbat apparently is its 
technical name. He divides them into the ranks of men, 
young men, slaves, and women, and names six of the first, 
eight of the second, tlii’ee of the third, and nine of the last. 
As a sample of the arrangement we give the first class, which 
consists of “ The shaven man, the white, the dishevelled grey, 
the black, the brown, the deeper brown.”* The other classes 
are similarly subdivided, and to each is attached a short 
description of the cliaracter of face which it should portray. 
“ The shaven man is the oldest of all, his hair quite white, 
and collected upon the foretop (oy/cos). The foretop is the 
upright projection above the face, in shape like the letter A. 
His beard is close shaven, and his cheeks pendulous. The 
black man is named from the darkness of his complexion : his 
hair and beard are curling, his face rough, and his foretop 
large. ”t Such is the exact detail continued through the four 
classes, and these seem merely to have been the regular 
stock of the theatre or mask-maker; for he afterwards 



enumerates extraordinary personages, as Actaeon with his 
horns, or many-eyed Argus, or Tyro with bruised cheeks, as 

- ’a ij.ev rpayiKd. |ypias av^p, AevKO?, aTrapTon6\io<:, avrjp, avr/p favflbs 

ai'Tip ^avOorepo^, iv, 

t Pollux Onomasticon, iv. 19. 


THE THEATRES. 


197 


introduced by Sophocles, or Gorgon, or Death, or a Fury, 
and a host more of mythological personages, or Thamyris, 
with one eye blue and the other black. This last is the most 
extraordinary. It appears from the marble masks still 
extant that the white of the eye was imitated, leaving only 
the aperture of the iris to see through; but the irides them¬ 
selves of Thamyris’s eyes must have been imitated—an extra¬ 
ordinary instance of minute attention to propriety, when 
two-thirds of the spectators probably could not tell whether 
he had any irides at all. The same may be observed of 
Tyro’s black and blue face. 

There are two very striking tragic masks in the Townley 
Gallery. The male is remarkable for the great elevation of 
the hair (oyfco?), to give increased, stature and dignity to the 
actor; its features are stern and exaggerated. Those of the 
female are regular and beautiful, and bear a wild, intense. 



inspired expression of terror, such as Cassandra may have 
worn while darkly presaging her own fate, and the evils 
about to fall on the house of Atreus. But it is very difficult 
to convey the expression of a mask by an engraving. The 
comic masks are still more numerous than the tragic. The 
annexed masks belong to some of Terence’s characters: they 
are given by Mad. Dacier, on the authority of a very ancient 
manuscript in the Royal Library at Paris, and serve to illus- 












198 


POMPEII. 


trate the varieties of counteuance considered ap^dicable to 
different characters. 



There are others devoted to the satyric di’ama. This was 
something of a medium between tragedy and comedy ; in 
spirit and cheerfulness it resembled the latter, but its ex¬ 
ternal form was derived from the former, and its subject was 



Tragic and Grotesque Masks. 

mythological. Its distinctive mark was a chorus of satyrs, 
who accompanied such heroic adventures as were of a more 
cheerful hue with lively songs, gestures, and movements. 
The immediate cause of this species of drama was derived 


THE THEATRES. 


199 


from the festivals of Bacchus, in which satyr masks were a 
common disguise. In these representations, therefore, the 
severe beauty of the tragic mask, softened in its features and 



expression, was combined with and opposed to the grotesque 
character usually given to Fauns and Sileni, and the ancient 
sculptors seem to have been fond of thus contrasting them. 
There are some instances of this in the Townley Gallery, 







200 


POMPEII. 


from which a drawing is given on p. 198. We also give a 
masked figm*e of Silenus from the same collection. The 
only existing satyric drama is the Cyclops of Eiu'ipides. 

The tragedians rarely travelled out of the mythic age : 
indeed there are only three known instances of subjects 
being taken from a more recent period—the capture of 
Miletus, and the Phoenissae by Phrynichus, and the Persee 
by ^schylus, the two latter written in commemoration of 
the overthrow of Xerxes. Hence the same persons, Achilles, 
Hercules, Orestes, Theseus, were continually reappearing 
on the stage. We know that a peculiar costume was as¬ 
signed to °them—as Priam was always shaven ; Ulysses 
dressed in a cloak, that being the Ithacan habit; Achilles 
and Neoptolemus were introduced with diadems. It is not 
improbable, therefore, that they had a traditionary cast of 
features assigned them; and if Mr. Flaxman’s assertion be 
correct, that the Grecian artists had for each of their prin¬ 
cipal deities an ideal model to which they always conformed, 
we may be sure that when introduced on the stage the 
orthodox countenance was strictly followed. The nature of 
their characters therefore created a further inducement to 
retain and improve the mask, rather than to cast it aside as 
a rude and mean appendage of the art in its infancy. 



Devoted as the Greeks were to beauty, an ugly or plebeian 
Prometheus, or Agamemnon, or Achilles, would have been 
intolerable, but an ugly Apollo would inevitably have been 
hooted off the stage. Many imitations of masks carved in 

















THE THEATRES. 


201 


marble still exist, which display great beauty and excellence 
of workmanship. We know much less of the minutiae of the 
Koman than of the Greek theatre. It appears from a passage 
in Cicero that the celebrated Eoscius sometimes played 
without his mask, and that this was preferred by his 
audience. 

It is evident that the heads of the actors, when covered 
with a mask, must have appeared disproportionately large. 
To remedy this, and to raise their stature to the heroic 



Tragic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. 

standard, a thick-soled boot w^as invented, called l/x^as, and 
Ko^opvo?, from which the words buskin and cothurnus have 
become almost convertible with tragedy in the Augustan age 
of Latin, and that which has been called the Augustan age of 
English literature. Distinguished from these was the comic 
shoe, £/A/?drr7c, in Latin, soccus, which word is in like manner 
used to denote comedy. Both the cothurnus and the oyKog 
above-mentioned are represented in the annexed outline 
of a painting found in the house of Castor and Pollux at 
Pompeii. The proportion of the figure, thus increased in 
height, was preserved by lengthening the arms with gloves 
and by stuffing and padding the body, so as to convey the 
idea of superhuman size and strength. How all this was 















202 


POMPEII. 


consistent with anything like natural speech or action, it is 
not easy to imagine. Distance certainly at once rendered 
the increase of hulk more necessary, and softened the awk¬ 
wardness of such made-up figures; still, in spite of the 
acknowledged purity of Grecian taste, and of the exquisite 
art and splendour lavished on their adornment, they must 
surely have seemed constrained and unnatural to any eye 
not habituated to such spectacles. It is evident that while 
this method of representation continued, tragedy could 
never lose its uniform and measured character. If the 
author had thought it consistent with the dignity of the 
occasion and of his subject to introduce those tumultuous 
scenes, that abrupt and impassioned dialogue, which in the 
hands of our elder dramatists produce such astonishing effect, 
they would have been lost in the delivery. 

The theatre was usually surrounded with porticoes, which 
being under cover, served better for the purposes of rehearsal 
than the open stage. A very beautiful mosaic has been 
found in the house of the tragic j)oet at Pompeii, representing 
the Choragus,* or master of the chorus, instructing his 
actors in their parts. He is represented as sitting on a chair 
in the Choragium, or place devoted to these rehearsals, sur¬ 
rounded by performers. At his feet, on a stool, are the 
various masks which were used; another is behind him, on a 
pedestal; these he seems about to distribute. One of the 
actors, assisted by another, is putting his arms through the 
sleeves of a thick shaggy tunic; while the Choragus appears 
to be addressing him who has lifted his mask, that he may 
show by the expression of his countenance his attention to 
what is being said. In the middle of the picture is a female, 
cro^\^led with a wreath, playing on the double flute, or 
j)erhaps tuning the instrument. Two of the figures are merely 
covered round the loins with goat-skins. Behind the figures 
are represented the Ionic columns of the portico, with its 
entablature; above this is a kind of gallery, decorated with 
figures and vases, and garlands are also hung in festoons 
between the columns. This mosaic is composed of very fine 

* The Romans termed Choragus the person whom the Greeks named 
Chorodidascalus, the maitre du ballet. The Choragus, in the proper sense of 
the word, was the person at whose expense the chorus and decorations were 
provided. 


THE THEATRES. 


203 


pieces of glass,* and is esteemed one of tlie most beautiful 
that has yet been discovered. The ground is black and the 



* Until lately it was supposed that the small and fine mosaics found at 
Pompeii were made of stone; but it has sinee been 

made of glass, in a similar manner and with similar materials to the modem 
Roman mosaics now so celebrated. 















































204 


POMPEII. 


figures of the natural colour. The dresses are mostly white, 
but the robe of the flute-player is bordered with purple; her 
garland, flutes, and mouth-band (capistrum), wuth most of the 
ornaments, are gold-coloured. It is to be remarked that the 
masks are all coloured in imitation of life, and with different 
complexions and hair, according to the age and character to 
be represented. The lijis in all are of a bright red. 



riaii of itie laige Theatr-a at Pompeii. 


In the eastern portico of the Triangular Forum are four 
entrances to different j^arts of the greater theatre. The first 





















































THE THEATRES. 


205 


two, as you enter, lead into a large circular corridor sur¬ 
rounding the whole cavea ; the third opens on an area behind 
the scene, from w'hich there is a communication with the 
orchestra and privileged seats; the fourth led dowm a long 
flight of steps, at the bottom of which you turn, on the right, 
into the soldiers’ quarter, on the left, into the area already 
mentioned. The corridor is arched over. It has two other 
entrances, one by a large passage from the east side, another 
from a smaller passage on the north. Six inner doors, called 
vomitoria, opened on an equal number of staircases which 
ran down to the first praecinctio. The theatre is formed upon 
the slope of a hill, the corridor being the highest part, so 
that the audience upon entering descended at once to their 
seats, and the vast staircases, which conducted to the upper 
seats of the theatres and amphitheatres at Eome, were saved. 
By the side of the first entrance is a staircase which led up 
to the women’s gallery above the corridor: here the seats 
were partitioned into compartments, like our boxes. The 
benches were about one foot three inches high and two feet 
four inches wide. One foot three inches and a half was 
allowed to each spectator, as may be ascertained in one part, 
where the divisions are marked off and numbered. There 
is space to contain about five thousand persons.* Here the 
middle classes sat, usually upon cushions which they brought 
with them ; the men of rank sat in the orchestra below, on 
chairs of state carried thither by their slaves. Flanking the 
orchestra, and elevated considerably above it, are observable 
two divisions, appropriated, one perhaps to the proconsul, or 
duumvirs and their officers, the other to the vestal virgins, 
or to the use of the person who gave the entertainments. 
This is the more likely, because in the smaller theatre, where 
these boxes, if we may call them so, are also found, they have 
a communication with the stage. 

This theatre appears to have been entirely covered with 
marble; the benches of the cavea were of marble, the 
orchestra was of marble, the scene wdth all its ornaments was 
also of marble; and yet of this profusion of marble only a 
few fragments remain. It appears, from an inscription found 
in it, to have been erected, or much improved, by one 


* Donaldson’s Pompeii. 


206 


POMPEII. 


Holconius Rufus. Upon the first step of the orchestra "was 
another inscription, composed of bronze letters let into^ the 
marble. The metal has been carried away, but the cavities 


Flute-player, from a Painting at Pompeii. 



in the marble still remain. They were placed so as partly 
to encompass a statue, and run thus : 

M. HOLCONIO. M. F. RVFO. II. V.LD. QVINQVIENS. ITER. 
QVINQ. TRIB. MIL. A. P. FLAMEN. AVG. 

PATR. COLON. D.D. 

















THE THEATRES, 


207 


signifying, that the colony dedicated this to its patron, 
M. Holconins Rnfns, son of Marcus: then follow his titles. 



In the middle of this inscription is a vacant space, where 
probably stood the statue of Holconins, as the cramps, by 




































































































POMPEII. 


208 

which something was fastened, still remain. Or possibly it 
may have been an altar, as it was the custom among the 
ancients to sacrifice to Bacchus in the theatre. The view on 
p. 2U7 represents the building which we have been describing, 



Stone Rings, to receive the Masts of the Velarium, from the Great Theatre 
at Pompeii. 


as seen from one of the entrances leading to the orchestra, 
having on the right hand the scene. In the wall which 
supported the front of the stage are seven recesses, similar 
to those discovered in the tJieatre at Herculaneum. Tlieso 


























THE THEATRES. 


209 


arc supposed to have been occupied by the musicians.* In 
front is the entrance to the orchestra; above may be seen 
the six rows of steps which encircled it; then the cavea, de¬ 
spoiled of its marble, but still showing the lines of benches 
and stairs dividing them into cunei, and the vomitoria, or 
doors of entrance. Still higher is the women’s gallery, and 
above that the external wall, which never was entirely buried, 
and might have pointed out to any curious observer the exact 
situation of Pompeii. In our general view, the reader will 
observe one of the masts which supported the velarium, or 
awning, restored : it passed through two rings of stone pro¬ 
jecting from the internal face of the wall. At the Coliseum 
these masts were supported by consoles on the outside. 

Respecting the scene we have little to add to what we have 
already said. Enough remains to show that the three chief 
doors were situated in deep recesses; those at the sides 
rectangular, the central one circular. In front of the latter 
were two columns. Behind it is the postscenium. From 
the eastern side of the stage a covered portico led into the 
orchestra of the small theatre, and seems to have been meant 
as a communication between the privileged seats of either 
house, for the convenience of those who were entitled to 
them. At the end of this portico is another communication 
with the square called the soldiers’ quarters. 

The same plan and the same disposition of parts are ob¬ 
servable in the small theatre sometimes called the Odeum. 
In form, however, it is different, the horns of the seiru- 
circle being cut off by lines drawn perpendicular to the 
front of the stage. Another, and a more remarkable difference 
is, that it appears from the following inscription to have been 
permanently roofed, though probably only with wood:— 

C. QVINCTIVS. C. F. VALG. 

M. PORCIVS. M. F. 

DVO. VIR. DEC. DECK. 

THEATRVM. TECTVM. 

FAC. LOCAR. EIDEMQ. PROB. 

“ Caius Quinctius Valgus, son of Gains, and Marcus Porcius 

* The cut on p. 206 represents a musician playing on the double flute. It 
is kept close to his mouth, and the breath hindered from escaping by a band, 
tailed (pop^tioy by the Greeks, capistrum by tlie Latins. 

P 


210 


POMPEII. 


son of Marcus, Duumvirs, by a decree of tbe Decurions let 
out tbe covered theatre to be erected by contract, and the 
same approved it.” It is supposed to have been erected 
shortly after the end of the Social War, and is inferior to the 
other theatre in decoration and construction. It is built of 
the tufa of Nocera, but the stairs which separate the cunei 



POSTSCENIUM 



Plan of the small Theatre. 


are of a very hard Vesuvian lava, well fitted to withstand the 
constant action of ascending and descending feet. The front 
wall of the proscenium, the scene, and the pavement of the 
orchestra, were entirely of marble of various colours—African 
breccia, giallo antico, and a purple marble. A band of marble, 
striped grey and white, runs across the orchestra from 
























THE THEATRES. 


211 


end to end of the seats, and in it are inlaid letters oi bronze, 
eight inches and a half long, and level with the surface, 
forming the following inscription:— 

M. OLCONIUS. M.F. VERUS. IIVIR. PRO. LVDIS. 

“ Marcus Olconius Yerus, son of Marcus, Duumvir for the 



gamessignifying probably that he laid down the pavement. 
Within the orchestra itself there were four tiers of benches, 





























































212 


POMPEII. 


upon which were placed the bisellia, or chairs of state, upon 
which the municipal authorities and persons of distinction 
sat. These were usually made of bronze, handsomely orna¬ 
mented, and supported by four legs. The Romans always 
provided conspicuous and distinct seats for their magistrates. 
The curule chair, composed of ivory, was peculiar to those of 
the metropolis; the inhabitants of the colonies and munici¬ 
palities placed their authorities upon a large chair, capable of 
containing two persons, though only one occupied it, whence 
this seat of honour was called bisellium. An inscription 
found at Nocera tells us that the perpetual duumvirate was 
conferred on one M. Virtius; and beneath is carved the 
bisellium, with its footstool (scabellum), and two lictors at 
the side, as the insignia of the duumvirate. Two inscriptions 
in the Street of Tombs lead us to infer that this distinction 
was highly prized by the ancients, and only given to persons 
of eminent services or distinguished merit. Under both of 
them, bisellia, with their footstools and cushions, are carved. 
These bisellia were of several forms and different heights, 
according to the places for which they were intended: the 
highest, probably, were meant for the highest authorities; 
but high and low they had footstools, of one, two, three, or 
even more steps. Two have been found at Pompeii, of one 
of which we give an engraving. In form and ornament they 
are much alike, but they are very unequal in height. Both 
are made of bronze inlaid with silver. In execution and 
elegance they are equal, if not superior, to anything of the 
kind in modern art, and in the workmanship an extraordinary 
finish and accuracy is visible. These were placed, as we 
lave said, on the four ranges of steps within the orchestra, 
which are not so deep as the steps of the cavea, nor have they 
places hollowed out for the feet, to defend the backs of the 
inferior row of spectators, the different arrangement of seats 
making this unnecessary. 

In the view which is given of this small theatre, the 
reader will plainly see the different parts of the building. 
Behind the four benches of the orchestra rises a high parapet, 
which separated the privileged and unprivileged seats. Be¬ 
hind this ran the praecinctio or landing, accessible from 
below by the four curved steps at each end of the orchestra. 
Two of the stairs are visible, and a complete cuneus included 


THE THEATRES. 


213 


between them. Above the cavea is the gallery for women. 
The cavea contained seventeen rows of seats. The only 



direct acce s to it is by a passage behind, also communi¬ 
cating with the orchestra of the large theatre, which opens 



























214 


POMPEII. 


into a circular corridor, where are the vomitoria and stairs 
to ascend to the gallery. It has been computed that there 
is accommodation for fifteen hundred persons. The ends of 
the parapet are ornamented with winged griffins’ legs. 
Behind, two sculptured figures, stoutly proportioned, appear 
to support the side wall of the cavea, upon which ponderous 
bronze candelabra formerly stood. To the left are the stage, 
scene, and postscenium. The centre door, or valvse regiae, 
and one of the side ones, are visible, and the wall of the post- 
scenimn closes the view behind. The cavity running along 
the front of the stage was most likely meant to hold the 
curtain, which, as we have said, was raised, not let down, 
when it was necessary to conceal the scene. The marble 
facings of this part of the building seem to have been carried 
away after the eruption of Vesuvius. In front, there appear 
two entrances, one to the pulpitum or stage, the other to 
the orchestra: between them is a flight of steps which led 
up to the chamber or box above mentioned, as set apart pro¬ 
bably for the person who celebrated the games. 


215 


CHAPTER VIII. 

THE AMPHITHEATRE. 

Some hundred yards from the theatres, in the south-eastern 
angle of the walls of the town, stands the amphitheatre. 
Although, perhaps, of Etruscan origin, the exhibitions of 
the amphitheatre are so peculiarly Roman, and Pompeii con¬ 
tains so many mementos of them, that a detailed account 
of them will not perhaps be misplaced. At an early 
period, a. u. 490, the practice of compelling human beings 
to fight for the amusement of spectators was introduced ; 
and twelve years later the capture of several elephants in the 
first Punic war proved the means of introducing the chase, 
or rather the slaughter, of wild beasts into the Roman circus. 
The taste for these spectacles increased of course with its in¬ 
dulgence, and their magnificence with the wealth of the city 
and the increasing facility and inducement to practise 
bribery which was offered by the increased extent of pro¬ 
vinces subject to Rome. It was not however until the last 
period of the republic, or rather until the domination of 
the' emperors had collected into one channel the tributary 
wealth which previously was divided among a numerous 
aristocracy, that buildings were erected solely for the ac¬ 
commodation of gladiatorial shows; buildings entirely be¬ 
yond the compass of a subject’s wealth, and in which perhaps 
the magnificence of imperial Rome is most amply displayed. 
Numerous examples scattered throughout her empire, in a 
more or less advanced state of decay, still attest the luxm*y 
and solidity of their construction; while at Rome the Coli¬ 
seum asserts the pre-eminent splendour of the metropolis 
a monument surpassed in magnitude by the Pyramids alone, 
and as superior to them in skill and varied contrivance of 
design as to other buildings in its gigantic magnitude. 

The Greek word, which by a slight alteration of its termi¬ 
nation we render amphitheatre, signifies a theatre, or place 
of spectacles, forming a continuous inclosure, in opposition 
to the simple theatre, which, as we have said, was semicir- 


216 


POMPEII. 


cular, but with the seats usually continued somewhat in 
advance of the diameter of the semicircle. The first amphi¬ 



theatre seems to have been that of Curio, consisting of two 
moveable theatres, which could be placed face to face or back 






















THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


217 


to back, according to the species of amusement for wliicli they 
were required. Usually, gladiatorial shows were given in the 
Forum, and the chase and combats of wild beasts exliibited in 
the Circus, where once, when Pompey was celebrating games, 
some enraged elephants broke through the barrier which sepa¬ 
rated them from the spectators. This circumstance, together 
with the unsuitableness of the Circus for such sports, from its 
being divided into two compartments by the spina, a low 
wall surmounted by pillars, obelisks, and other ornamental 
erections, as well as from its disproportionate length, which 
rendered it ill adapted to afford a general view to all the 
spectators, determined Julius Caesar, in his dictatorship, 
to construct a wooden theatre in the Campus Martius, 
built especially for hunting {Oiarpoy KvvrjyeriKor), “which 
was called amphitheatre | apparently the first use of the word] 
because it was encompassed by circular seats without a 
scene.”* The first permanent amphitheatre was built partly 
of stone and partly of wood, by Statilius Taurus, at -the in¬ 
stigation of Augustus, who was passionately fond of these 
sports, especially of the hunting of rare beasts. This was 
burnt during the reign of Nero, and though restored, fell 
short of the wishes of Vespasian, who commenced the vast 
structure—completed by his son Titus—called the Flavian 
Amphitheatre, and subsequently the Coliseum. The expense 
of this building it is said would have sufficed to erect a capital 
city, and, if we may credit Dion, 9000 wild beasts were 
destroyed in its dedication. Eutropius restricts the number 
to 5000. When the hunting was over the arena was filled 
with w’ater, and a sea-fight ensued. 

The construction of these buildings so much resembles 
the construction of theatres, that it will not be necessary to 
describe them at any great length. Without, they usually 
presented to the view an oval wall, comj^osed of two or more 
stories of arcades, supported by piers of different orders of 
architecture adorned with pilasters or attached pillars. 
AVithin, an equal number of stories of galleries gave access 
to the spectators at different elevations, and the inclined 
plane of the seats was alco supported upon piers and vaults, 
so that the ground plan presented a number of circular rows 


* Dion Cassius, xliii. 


218 


POMPEII. 


of piers, arranged in radii converging to the centre of the 
arena. A suitable number of doors opened upon the ground 
floor, and passages from thence, intersecting the circular 
passages between the piers, gave an easy access to every 
part of the building. Sometimes a gallery encompassed the 
whole, and served as a common access to all the stairs which 
led to the upper stories. This was the case in the amphi¬ 
theatre at Nismes. Sometimes each staircase had its distinct 
communication from without: this was the case at Verona. 
The arrangement of the seats was the same as in theatres; 
they were divided horizontally by praecinctiones, and verti¬ 
cally into cunei by staircases. The scene and apparatus of 
the stage was of course wanting, and its place occupied by 
an oval area, called arena, from the sand with which it was 
sprinkled, to absorb the blood shed, and give a firmer footing 
than that afforded by a stone pavement. It was sunk twelve 
or fifteen feet below the lowest range of seats, to secure the 
spectators from injury, and was besides fenced with round 
wooden rollers turning in their sockets, placed horizontally 
against the wall, such as the reader may have observed placed 
on low gates to prevent dogs from climbing over, and with 
strong nets. In the time of Nero these nets were knotted 
with amber,* and the Emperor Carinus caused them to be 
made of golden cord or wire.| Sometimes, for more com¬ 
plete security, ditches, called euripi, surrounded the arena. 
This was first done by Caesar, as a protection to the people 
against the elephants which he exhibited, that animal being 
supposed to be j)articularly afraid of water, The arena was 
sometimes spread with pounded stone. Caligula, in a fit of 
extravagance, used chrysocolla; and Nero, to surpass him, 
caused the brilliant red of cinnabar to be mixed with it. 

In the centre of the arena was an altar dedicated some¬ 
times to Diana or Pluto, more commonly to Jupiter Latiaris, 
the protector of Latium, in honour of whom human sacrifices 
were offered. Passages are to be found in ancient writers, 
from which it is inferred that the games of the amphitheatre 
were usually opened by sacrificing a hestiarins, one of those 
gladiators whose profession was to combat wild beasts, in 
honom’ of this bloodthirsty deity.§ Beneath the arena dens 

* Pliny, lib. xxxv. f Calpurnius. 

X Pliny, lib. viii. § Lipsiiis, De Amphitheatro, cap. iv. 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


219 


arc supposed to have been constructed to contain wild beasts. 
At the Coliseum numerous underground buildings are said 
by Fulvius to have existed, which he supposed to be sewers 
constructed to drain and cleanse the building.* Others 
with more probability have supposed them to be the dens of 
wild beasts. Immense accommodation was requisite to con¬ 
tain the thousands of animals which were slaughtered upon 
solemn occasions, but no great provision need have been 
made to carry off the rainwater which fell upon the five or 
six acres comprised within the w^ls of the building. Others 
again have supposed them formed to introduce the vast 
bodies of water by which the arena was suddenly transformed 
into a lake when imitations of naval battles were exhibited. 
In 1813 the arena was excavated, and numerous substructures 
discovered, which have since been filled up, the ground 
having become a swamp for want of drainage. Doors pierced 
in the wall w^hich supported the podium communicated with 
these, or with other places of confinement benefe,th the part 
allotted to the audience, which being thrown open, vast 
numbers of animals could be introduced at once. Vopiscus 
tells us that a thousand ostriches, a thousand stags, and a 
thousand boars were thrown into the arena at once by the 
Emperor Probus. Sometimes, to astonish, and attract by 
novelty, the arena was converted into a wood. “ Probus,” 
says the same author, “ exhibited a splendid hunting match, 
after the following manner. Large trees torn up by the roots 
were firmly connected by beams, and fixed upright; then 
earth was spread over the roots, so that the whole circus 
was planted to resemble a wood, and offered us the gratifi¬ 
cation of a green scene. 

The same order of precedence was observed as at the 
theatre—senators, knights, and commons having each their 
appropriate place. To the former was set apart the podium, 
a broad precinction or platform which ran immediately round 
the arena. Hither they brought the curule seats or bisellia, 
described in speaking of the theatres of Pompeii; and here 
was the suggestus, a covered seat appropriated to the em¬ 
peror. It is supposed that in this part of the building there 
were also seats of honour for the exhibitor of the games and 

* De Mirabilibus Urbis, lib, i. 

+ In Piobo. 


220 


POMPEII. 


the vestal virgins. If the podium was insufficient for the 
accommodation of the senators, some of the adjoining seats 
were taken for their use. Next to the senators sat the 
knights, who seem here, as in the theatre, to have had four¬ 
teen rows set apart for them; and with them sat the civil 
and military tribunes. Behind were the popularia, or seats 
of the plebeians. Different tribes had particular cunei 
allotted to ‘them. There were also some further internal 
arrangements, for Augustus separated married from unmarried 
men, and assigned a separate ciineus to youths, near whom 
their tutors were stationed. Women were stationed in a 
gallery, and attendants and servants in the highest gallery. 
The general direction of ^e amphitheatre was under the 
care of an officer named villicus ampliitheatri. Officers called 
locarii attended to the distribution of the people, and removed 
any person from a seat which he was not entitled to hold. 

We may notice, as a refinement of luxury, that concealed 
conduits were carried throughout these buildings, from which 
scented liquids were scattered over the audience. Sometimes 
the statues which ornamented them were applied to this pur¬ 
pose, and seemed to sweat perfumes through minute holes, 
with which* the pipes that traversed them were pierced. It 
is this to which Lucan alludes in the following lines: — 

-As when mighty Rome’s spectators meet 

In the full theatre’s capacious seat, 

At once, by secret pipes and channels fed. 

Rich tinctures gush from every antique head ; 

At once ten thousand saffron currents flow. 

And rain their odours on the crowd below. 

Rowe’s Lucan, book ix. 

Saffron was the material usually employed for these refresh¬ 
ing showers. The dried herb was infused in wine, more 
especially in sweet wine. Btilsams and the more costly un¬ 
guents were sometimes employed for the same purpose. 

Another contrivance, too remarkable to be omitted in a 
general • account of amphitheatres, is the awning b}?- which 
spectators were i)rotectcd from the oveiq^owering heat of an 
Italian sun. This was called Velum, or Velarium ; and it 
has afforded matter for a good deal of controversy, how a 
temporary covering could be extended over the vast areas of 
these buildings. Something of the kind was absolutely 


THE AMPHITHEATllE. 


221 


necessary, for the spectacle often lasted for many hours, and 
when anything extraordinary was expected the people went 
in crowds before daylight to obtain places, and some even 
at midnight. The Campanians first invented the means of 
stretching awnings over their theatres, by means of cords 
stretched across the cavea and attached to masts which 
passed through perforated blocks of stone deeply bedded 
in the wall. Quintus Catulus introduced them at Kome 
when he celebrated games at the dedication of the Capitol, 
A. u. 684. Lentulus Spinther, a contemporary of Cicero, first 
erected fine linen awnings (carbasina vela). Julius Caesar 
covered over the whole Forum Romanum, and the Via Sacra, 
from his own house to the Capitc^, which was esteemed even 
more wonderful than his gladiatorial exhibition.* Dio men¬ 
tions a report that these awnings were of silk, but he speaks 
doubtfully; and it is scarcely probable that even Caesar’s 
extravagance w^ould have carried him so far. Silk at that 
time w'as not manufactured at Rome; and we learn from 
Vopiscus, that even in the time of Aurelian the raw material 
was 'worth its weight in gold. Lucretius, speaking of the 
effect of coloured bodies upon transmitted light, has a fine 
passage illustrative of the magnificence displayed in this 
branch of 'theatrical decoration. 

This the crowd surveys 
Oft in the theatre, whose awnings broad, 

Bedecked with crimson, yellow, or the tint 
Of steel cerulean, from their fluted heights 
Wave tremulous ; and o’er the scene beneath, 

Each maible statue, and the rising rows 
Of rank and beauty, fling their tint superb, 

While as the walls with ampler shade repel 
The garish noonbeam, every object round 
Laughs with a deeper dye, and wears profuse 
A lovelier lustre, ravished from the day.f 

Wool however was the most common material, and'the velaria 
made in Apulia were most esteemed, on account of the white¬ 
ness of the wool. 

* Pliny, Hist. Nat. xix. 6. 

+ Lucretius, iv. 73; Good’s translation. In the seventh line, “ rank and 
beauty ” is an interpolation of the translator’s, taken from the practice of the 
modern theatre. In the Roman theatre they were as widely separated as are 
ihe boxes and one shilling gallery in our own. 


222 


POMPEII 


Those who are not acquainted by experience with the 
difficulty of giving stability to tents of large dimensions, 
and the greater difficulty of erecting awnings, when, on ac¬ 
count of the purpose for which they are intended, no support 
can be applied in the centre, may not fully estimate the 
difficulty of erecting and managing these velaria. Strength 
was necessary, both for the cloth itself and for the cords 
which strained and supported it, or the whole would have 
been shivered by the first gust of wind, and strength could 
not be obtained without great weight. Many of our readers 
probably are not aware, that however short and light a string 
may" be, no amount of tension applied horizontally will 
stretch it into a line perfectly and mathematically straight. 
Practically the deviation is imperceptible where the power 
applied is very large in proportion to the weight and length 
of the string. Still it exists ; and to take a common example, 
the reader probably never saw a clothes-line stretched out, 
though neither the weight nor length of the string are consi¬ 
derable, without the middle being visibly lower than the ends. 
When the line is at once long and heavy, an enormous power 
is required to suspend it even in a curve between two points ; 
and the amount of tension, and difficulty of finding materials 
able to withstand it, are the only (Obstacles to constructing 
chain bridges which should be thousands, instead of hundreds 
of feet in length. In these erections the piers are raised to 
a considerable height, that a sufficient depth may be allowed 
for the curve of the chains without depressing the roadway. 
Ten times—a hundred times the power which was applied to 
strain them into that shape would not suffice to bring them 
even so near to a horizontal line but that the most inaccurate 
and unobservant eye should at once detect the inequality 
in their level; and the chains themselves would probably 
give way before such a force as this could be applied to them. 
The least diameter of the Coliseum is nearly equal in length 
to the Menai bridge; and if the labour of stretching cords 
over the one seems small in comparison with that of raising 
the ponderous chains of the other, we may take into consi¬ 
deration the weight of cloth which those cords supported, and 
the increase of difficulties arising from the action of the 
wind on so extensive a surface. In boisterous weather, as 
we learn from Martial and other authors, these difficulties 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


223 


were so great that the velum could not be spread. When 
this was the case the Romans used broad hats, or a sort of 
parasol, which was called umhella or umbraculum, from umbra^ 
shade.* We may add, in conclusion, that Suetonius mentions 
as one of Caligula’s tyrannical extravagances, that sometimes 
at a show of gladiators, when the sun’s heat was most intense, 
he would cause the awning to be drawn back, and at the same 
time forbid any person to leave the place. 

The difficulty of the undertaking has given rise to con¬ 
siderable discussion as to the means by which the Romans 
contrived to extend the velum at such a height over so great 
a surface, and to manage it at pleasure. Sailors were em¬ 
ployed in the service, for the Emperor Commodus, who 
piqued himself on his gladiatorial skill, and used to fight in 
the arena, believing himself mocked by the servile crowd of 
spectators, when once they hailed him with' divine honours, 
gave order for their slaughter by the sailors who were 
managing the veils.l Concerning the method of working 
them no information has been handed down. It is evident 
however that they were supported by masts which rose above 
the summit of the walls. A view of one of these, with the 
method of fastening it, has been given in the chapter on 
theatres. Near the top of the outer wall of the Coliseum 
there are 240 consoles, or projecting blocks of stone, in 
which holes are cut to receive the ends of spars, which ran 
uji through holes cut in the cornice to some height above the 
greatest elevation of the building. A sufficient number of 
firm points of support at equal intervals was thus procured ; 
and this difficulty being overcome, the next was to stretch as 
tight as possible the larger ropes, upon which the whole 
covering depended for its stability. 

The games to which these buildings were especially de¬ 
voted were, as we have already hinted, twofold—those in 
which wild beasts were introduced, to combat either with 

* The lollowing epigrams of Martial will illustrate these points;— 

In Pompeiano tectus speetabo theatro, 

Nam populo ventus vela negare solet. 

Accipe quae nimios vincant umbracula soles: 

!Sit licet et ventus, te tua vela tegent. 


f Lampridius. 



% 


224 POMPEII. 

each other or with men, and those in which men fought with 
men. Under the general term of gladiators are comprised 
all who fought in the arena, though those who pitted their 
skill against the strength and ferocity of savage animals 
were peculiarly distinguished by the name of hestiarii. In 
general these unhappy persons were slaves or condemned 
criminals, who by adopting this profession purchased an un¬ 
certain prolongation of existence, but freemen sometimes 
gained a desperate subsistence by thus hazarding their lives; 
and in the decline of Rome, knights, senators, and even the 
emperors sometimes appeared in the arena, at the instigation 
of a vulgar and degradiug thirst for popular ai)plause. 

The origin of these bloody entertainments may be found 
in the earliest records of profane history and the earliest 
stages of society. Among half-civilized or savage nations, 
both aticient and modern, we find it customary after a battle 
to sacrifice prisoners of war in honour of those chiefs who 
have been slain. Thus Achilles offers up twelve young Tro¬ 
jans to the ghost of Patroclus,* and similar examples may be 
easily found among our northern ancestors and the indigenous 
American tribes of the present day. In course of time it 
became usual to sacrifice slaves at the funeral of all j)ersons 
of condition ; and either for the amusement of the spectators, 
or because it appeared barbarous to massacre defenceless 
men, arms were placed in their hands, and they were incited 
to save their own lives by the death of those who were op¬ 
posed to thorn. In later times, the furnishing these unliappy 
men became matter of speculation, and they were carefully 
trained to the profession of arms, to increase the reputation 
and popularity of the contractor who provided them. This 
person was called lanista by the Romans. At first these 
sports were performed about the funeral pile of the deceased, 
or near his sepulchre, in consonance with the idea of sacrifice 
in which they originated; but as they became more splendid, 
and ceased to be peculiarly appropriated to such occasions, 
they were removed, originally to the Forum, and afterwards 
to the Circus and amphitheatres. 

Gladiators were first exhibited at Rome, a.u. 488, by 
M and D. Brutus, on occasion of the death of their father. 


* 11. xsiii. 175. 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


225 


This show consisted only of three pairs, a.d. 537, the 
three sons of M. ^Emilius Lepidus, the augur, entertained 
the people in the Forum with eleven pair, and the show 
lasted three days. a.u. 552, the three sons of M. Valerius 
•Laiwinus exhibited twenty-five pairs. And thus these shows 
increased in number and frequency, and the taste for them 
strengthened with its gratification, until not only the heir of 
any rich or eminent person lately deceased, but all the prin¬ 
cipal magistrates, and the candidates for magistracies, pre¬ 
sented the people with shows of this nature to gain their 
favour and support. 

This taste was not without its inconveniences and dangers. 
Men of rank and political importance kept families, as they 
were called, of gladiators—desperadoes ready to execute any 
command of their master; and towards the fall of the repub¬ 
lic, when party rage scrupled not to have recourse to open 
violence, questions of the highest import were debated in the 
streets of the city by the most despised of its slaves. In the 
conspiracy of Catiline so much danger was apprehended from 
them, that particular measures were taken to prevent their 
joining the disaffected party; an event the more to be feared 
because of the desperate war in which they had engaged the 
republic a few years before, under the command of the cele¬ 
brated Spartacus. At a much later period, at the triumph of 
Probus, A.D. 281, about fourscore gladiators exhibited a simi¬ 
lar courage. Disdaining to shed theii' blood for the amuse¬ 
ment of a cruel jDeople, they killed their keepers, broke out 
from the place of their confinement, and filled the streets of 
Eome with blood and confusion. After an obstinate resist¬ 
ance they were cut to pieces by the regular troops. 

The oath which they took upon entering the service is pre¬ 
served by Petronius, and is couched in these terms: “We 
swear, after the dictation of Eumolpus, to suffer death by fire, 
bonds, stripes, and the sword; and whatever else Eumolpus 
may command, as true gladiators we bind ourselves body 
and mind to our master’s service.” 

From slaves and freedmen the inhuman sport at length 
spread to persons of rank and fortune, insomuch that Augus¬ 
tus was obliged to issue an edict, that none of senatorial 
rank should become gladiators; and soon after he laid a 
similar restraint on the knights. Succeeding emperors, 

Q 


226 


POMPEII. 


according to their characters, encouraged or endeavoured to 
suppress this degrading taste. Nero is related to have 
brought upwards of four hundred senators and six hundred 
knights upon the arena; and in some of his exhibitions even 
women of quality contended publicly. The excellent Marcus- 
Aurelius not only retrenched the enormous expenses of these 
amusements, but ordered that gladiators should contend only 
with blunt weapons. But they were not abolished until some 
time after the introduction of Christianity. Constantine 
published the first edict which condemned the shedding of 
human blood, and ordered that criminals condemned to 
death should rather be sent to the mines than reserved for 
the service of the amphitheatre. In the reign of Honorius, 
when he was celebrating with magnificent games the retreat 
of the Goths and the deliverance of Eome, an Asiatic monk, 
by name Telemachus, had the boldness to descend into the 
arena to part the combatants. “ The Eomans were provoked 
by this interruption of their pleasures, and the rash monk 
was overwhelmed under a shower of stones. But the mad¬ 
ness of the people soon subsided ; they respected the memory 
of Telemachus, who had deserved the honours of martyrdom, 
and they submitted without a murmur to the laws of Hono¬ 
rius, which abolished for ever the human sacrifices of the am¬ 
phitheatre.”* This occurred a.d. 404. It was not however 
until the year 500 that the practice w'as finally and com¬ 
pletely abolished by Theodoric. 

Some time before the day appointed for the spectacle, he 
who gave it {editor) published bills containing the name and 
ensigns of the gladiators, for each of them had his own distinc¬ 
tive badge, and stating also how many were to fight, and how 
long the show would last. It appears, that like our itinerant 
showmen, they sometimes exhibited paintings of what the 
sports were to contain. On the appointed day the gladiators 
marched in procession with much ceremony into the amphi¬ 
theatre. They then separated into pairs, as they had been 
previously matched. The annexed engraving, taken from a 
picture on the wall of the amphitheatre at Pompeii, seems to 
represent the beginning of a combat. In the middle stands 
the arbiter of the fight, marking out with a long stick the 
space for the combatants. On his right stands a gladiator 
•* Gibbon, chap, xxx. 


THE AMPIIITIIEATEE. 


227 



G ladiators, from a painting on tbe wall of the Arena at Pompeii. 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































228 


POMPEII. 


only lialf armed, to whom two others are bringing a sword 
and helmet. On the left another gladiator, also only partly 
armed, sounds the trumpet for the commencement of the 
fight; whilst behind him two companions, at the foot of one 
of the Victories which enclose the scene, are preparing his 
helmet and shield. At fii-st, however, they contended only 
with staves, called rudes, or with blunted weapons; but when 
warmed and inspirited by the pretence of battle, they changed 
their weapons, and advanced at the sound of trumpets to the 
real strife. The conquered looked to the people or to the 
emperor for life; his antagonist had no power to grant or to 
refuse it; but if the spectators were dissatisfied and gave the 
signal of death, he was obliged to become the executioner of 
their will. This signal was the turning down the thumbs; 
as is well known. If anj’- showed signs of fear, their deatli 
was certain ; if on the other hand they waited the fatal stroke 
with intrepidity, the people generally relented. But fear 
and want of spirit were of very rare occurrence, insomuch 
that Cicero more than once proposes the principle of honour 
which actuated gladiators as an admirable model of constancy 
and courage, by which he intended to animate himself and 
others to suffer everything in defence of the commonwealth. 

The bodies of the slain were dragged with a hook through 
a gate called Libitinensis, the Gate of Death, to the spolia- 
rium. The victor was rewarded with a sum of money, contri¬ 
buted by the spectators or bestowed from the treasury, or a 
palm-branch, or a garland of palm ornamented with coloured 
ribbons—ensigns of frequent occurrence in ancient monu¬ 
ments. Those who survived three years were released from 
this service, and sometimes one who had given great satis¬ 
faction was enfranchised on the spot. This was done by 
presenting the staff (rudis) which was used in preluding to the 
combat; on receiving which, the gladiator, if a freeman, re¬ 
covered his liberty ; if a slave, he was not made free, but was 
released from the obligation of ventmung his life any further 
in the arena. 

Gladiators were divided, according to the fashion of their 
armom’ and offensive weapons, into classes, known by the 
names of Thrax, Samnis, Myrmillo, and many others, of 
which a mere catalogue would be tedious, and it would be 
the work of a treatise to ascertain and describe their distinc¬ 
tive marks. The reader w^ho has any curiosity U23on the 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


229 


subject may consult the Saturnalia of Lipsius, in which a vast 
body of minute information is collected. It falls however 
strictly within our province to describe a tomb at Pompeii, 
ornamented with bas-reliefs in good preservation wdien 
copied by Mazois and Millin, which represent the two 
branches of amusement practised in the amphitheatre— 
hunting and gladiatorial fights, and throw a light upon many 
parts of our subject. 

It is situated in the Street of Tombs, as it is called, without 
the gate leading to Herculaneum, and consists of a square 
chamber serving as a basement, surmounted by three steps, 
upon which and on the uppermost part of the basement are 
placed the sculptures, of which we proceed to speak. The 
whole is terminated by a square cippus, or funeral pillar, 
which bore the following inscription :— 

RICIO. A.F. MEN 
_ SCAVRO 
II VIR. I. D. 

- - - ECVRIONES. LOCVM. MONVM. 

--00 CO IN. FVNERE ET. STATVAM EQVESS. 

- - - ORO. PONENDAM. CENSVERVNT. 

SCAVRVS. PATER. FILIO.* 

“ To Aricius Scaurus, son of Aulus, of the tribe Menenia, 
Duumvir of Justice, the decurions decreed the site of the 
monument, two thousand sesterces for funeral expenses, and 
an equestrian statue in the Forum. Scaurus the father to his 
son.” 

We give drawings of the most interesting of these sculp¬ 
tures, from Mazois, to whose researches we are also indebted 
for the following account of them. The earlier ones relate 



* The marble is broken, so that the first name {prsenomen) and the first 
letters of the name are lost. The latter has been diffb’ently read, Aricius 
Castricius, Patricius. Which is right is of httle importance. The beginnings 
of all the longer lines are wanting, and the symmetry of the inscription would 
lead us to suppose that the cipher which stands for a thousand should be 
])reli.\ed once oftener in the fifth line: which will make three thousand 
sesterces, about X24, 




POMPEII. 


230 

to tlie chase (venalio), and are taken from the steps 
support the cippus. The first represents a man, naked and 



unarmed, between a lion and a panther : the second, a wild 
boar apparently running at a man, also naked and defenceless, 









THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


23 ] 


and in a half-recumbent posture. Mazois conjpctures thal 
these ‘figures were of that class of combatants who, trusting 
in their activity alone, entered the arena merely to provoke 
the wdld beasts after they were let loose; and he adds that 
this dangerous exercise was still practised in the bull-fights at 
Eome. Defenceless as these figures are^ they show no signs 
of alarm, and in particular, he who is opposed to the boar 
seems collecting himself for a spring to bathe his enemy. 
In the continuation of the same relief is a wolf at full speed, 
gnawing a javelin deeply fixed in his chest, and further on a 
stag, with a rope attached to his horns, pulled down by two 
dogs or wolves. The next group is the most curious of this 
series, for it seems to represent the process by which the 
hestiarii were trained in their profession. It exhibits a youth — 
his legs and thighs protected by a sort of armour, a javelin in 
each hand—attacking a panther. The freedom of the beast’s 
movements is hampered by a cord attached at one end to a 
collar round its neck, and at the other to a broad girth which 
passes round the body of a bull. By tliis arrangement the 
novice is in part protected, while at the same time far more 
activity and wariness is required than if the animal were 
attached to a fixed point. Behind the bull is another figure 
with a lance, who seems to goad the bull forwards, and thus 
offer more scope for movement to the panther. 

Another bas-relief represents a man fighting a bear—a 
sword in one hand and a veil in the other, the very equip¬ 



ment of the matador in the Spanish bull-fights to tho 
present day. This circumstance, of little importance in 
itself, deserves remark, because it serves to fix the period of 
the construction of the tomb. We learn from Pliny * that 


* N. H., viii. 16. 


232 


POMPEII. 


tlie veil was not employed in the arena against wild beasts 
before the reign of Claudius. Claudius became Emperor 
A.O. 41. In the year 59 all theatrical exhibitions were inter¬ 
dicted for ten years. Four years afterwards occurred the 
earthquake, to which we have had occasion to make frequent 
reference ; and as the building bears evident marks of injury 
from this cause, and repair, we must conclude that it was 
erected at some time between the dates already given, 
probably during the ten or twelve years antecedent to the 
year 59. ■ ^ ^ 

The sculptures on the basement are divided into two lines 
of figures, forming a sort of double frieze. Here, as in the 
upper series, they are made of stucco; indeed there is no 
marble about the tomb except the slab on which the 
inscription was engraved. The figures appear to have been 
moulded separately, and attached to the plaster ground by 
brass or iron pins, more frequently the latter. These in 
many instances have been destroyed by rust, and have 
suffered the figures to drop. It is worthy of observation 
that the sculpture has been in part restored, and that under 
the present figures others have been found, of better work¬ 
manship, and, in some instances, differently armed. 

In various portions of the frieze are written the name of 
the person to whom the gladiators belonged—one Ampliatus 
—the names of the combatants, and the number of their 
victories. Ampliatus probably was the lanista of the city ; 
for an inscription found on the outer wall of the basilica, 
states that the family of N. Festus Ampliatus will contend a 
second time on the 17th May. These names are written in 
black, the letters narrow and ill shaped. 

Tlie upper frieze contains eight pairs of gladiators. The 
first pair, on the left, represents an equestrian combat. The 
first figure is called Bebrix, a barbarous name, which denotes 
a foreign origin. The numerals added to his name denote 
the number of contests in which he has been victorious ; 
they are much effaced, but have been read XII.* His 

* The letters IVl occur over most of the figures. In conjunction with the 
numerals, Mazois seems to interpret them, “ conquered so many timesbut he 
does not tell of what word he supposes them to be the abbreviation, nor are 
we prepared to suggest any. [The letters seem rather to be 'I'VL. standing 
for tulit, i.e., victorias, which last word is undei'stood. See Breton, p. 92.] 


THE AMPHITHEATKE. 


233 


adversary is called Nobilior, and reckons XI victories. 
Both are armed alike with a light lance, a round buckler 
(parma) elegantly ornamented, and helmets, with vizors 
which cover the whole face, and more resemble the helmets 
of the Middle Ages than the Eoman helmet as it is usually 
represented. The right arms of both and the thigh of 
Nobilior are protected by a sort of armour resembling suc¬ 
cessive bands of iron. These two gladiators are clothed in 
the inducula, a short and light cloak which formed part of 
the dress of the Eoman knights; the legs are naked. Bebrix 
has shoes resembling those now in use, but Nobilior wears 
tJie semiplotia, a kind of hunting shoe bound with thongs, 



round the leg.* The horse is coverea with the sagma, a 
sq^uare saddle-cloth in use among the Eoman cavalry; the 
crupper is painted red. The action of the figures is good. 
Bebrix appears to have aimed at Nobilior a blow with his 
lance, who having received it on the buckler, attacks in his 
turn Bebrix, who now places himself on the defensive. 

The group next in succession represents two gladiators 
whose names are defaced. The first wears a helmet having 
a vizor, much ornamented, with the long buckler (^scutum). 

* Similar to the moccasins of the Indians or the Scotch brogue. A similar 
article of home manufacture, made of raw hide, is still in use among the 
peasants of southern Italy.—See PinelUs Costumes. 




234 


POMPEII. 


It is presumed that he should have for offensive weapon a 
sword, but the sculptor has neglected to represent it. Like 
all the other gladiators, he wears the subligaculum, a short 
apron of red or white stuff fixed above the hips by a girdle 
of bronze or embroidered leather. On the right leg is a 



kind of buskin, commonly made of coloured leather ; on the 
left an ocrea or greave, not reaching to the knee. The left 
leg is thus armed, because that side of the body was the 
most exposed by the ancients, whose guard on account of the 
buckler was the reverse of the modern guard; the rest of 
the body is entirely naked. The other figure is armed 
with a helmet ornamented with wings, a smaller buckler, 
ihigh-pieces formed of plates of iron, and on each leg the 
high greave, called by the Greeks Kv-rjixig. These figures 
appear to represent one of the light-armed class, called Veles, 
and a Samnite (Samnis'), so called because they were armed 
after the old Samnite fashion. The former, who has been 
sixteen times a conqueror in various games, has at last en¬ 
countered a more fortunate, or a more skilful adversary. 
He is wounded in the breast, and has let fall his buckler, 
avowing himself conquered; at the same time he implores 
the pity of the people by raising his finger towards them, 
for it was thus that gladiators begged their life. Behind 
him the Samnite awaits the answering sign from the spectators, 








THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


235 


that he may spare his antagonist or strike the death-blow, 
as they decree. The third couple represents {Tlirax) a 
Thracian, so called from the fashion of his armour, especially 
the round Thracian shield (parma), and one called Myrmillo, 
a name of doubtful origin. It appears, however, that the 
Myrmillones were for the most jDart Gauls, and armed 
somewhat in the Gallic style, and that the Thrax and the 
Myrmillo were usually opposed to each other. The Thrax 
wears a helmet, with greaves and thigh-pieces like those of 
the Samnite ; and we may here observe that the right arm ot 
every figure is protected by a banded armour which we have 
already described. The upper part of the body is naked. 
The dress of the Myrmillo is nearly the same, except that he 
has not the thigh-pieces. A conqueror XV times, he is now 
worsted, and his adversary gains the XXXVth victory; and 
the letter © over his head, the initial of 6av(x>v indicates that 
he was put to death. The M which precedes’'it is inter 
preted to be the initial of Myrmillo.^ 

The next group consists of four figures. Two are 
secutores, followers, the other two, retiarii, net men, armed 
only with a trident and net, with which they endeavoured to 
entangle their adversary, and then despatch him. These 
classes, like the Thrax and Myrmillo, w'ere usual antagonists, 
and had their name from the secutor following the retiarius, 
who eluded the pursuit until he found an opportunity to 
throw his net to advantage. Nepimus, one of the latter, five 
times victorious, has fought against one of the former, whose 
name is lost, but who had triumphed six times in different 
combats. He has been less fortunate in this battle. Nepimus 
has struck him in the leg, the thigh, and the left arm; his 
blood runs, and in vain he implores mercy from the spec¬ 
tators. As the trident with which Nepimus is armed is not 
a weapon calculated to inflict speedy and certain death, the 
secutor Hyppolitus performs this last office to his comrade. 
The condemned wretch bends the knee, presents his throat 
to the sword, and throws himself forward to meet the blow, 
while Nepimus his conqueror pushes him, and seems to 
insult the last moments of his victim. In the distance is 
the retiarius, who must fight Hyppolitus in his tuim. The 


Overbeck interprets the M by mors, and the 0 by Bayaros. 


236 


POMPEII. 


secutores have a very i)lain helmet, that their adversary may 
have little or no opportunity of pulling it off with the net or 



trident; the right arm is clothed in armour, the left bore a 
clypeus, or large round shield; a sandal tied with narrow 








THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


237 


bands forms the covering*for their feet. They wear no body 
armour, no covering but a cloth round the waist, for by their 
lightness and activity alone could they hope to avoid death 
and gain the victory. The retiarii have the head bare, 
except a fillet bound round the hair; they have no shield, 
but the left side is covered with a demi-cuirass, and the left 
arm protected in the usual manner, except that the shoulder- 
piece is very high. They wear the caliga, or low boot 
common to the Roman soldiery, and bear the trident; but 
the net with which they endeavoured to envelope their 



adversaries is nowhere visible. This bas-relief is terminated 
by the combat between a light-armed gladiator and a Samnite. 
This last beseeches the spectators to save him, but it appears 
from the action of the principal figure that this is not 
granted. The conqueror looks towards the steps of the 
amphitheatre; he has seen the fatal signal, and in reply 
prepares himself to strike. 

Between the pilasters of the door the frieze is continued. 
Two combats are represented. In the first a Samnite has 
been conquered by a Myrmillo. This last wishes to become 
his comrade’s executioner without waiting the answer from 
the people, to whom the vanquished has appealed; but the 
lanista checks his arm, from which it would seem that the 
Samnite obtained pardon. The following pair exhibits a 
similar combat, in which the Myrmillo falls, stabbed to 


238 


POMPEII. 


death. The wounds, the blood, and the inside of the 
bucklers are painted of a very bright red coloui’. The 



swords, with the exception of that of Hyppolitus, are 
omitted ; it is possible that it was intended to make them of 
metal. 



The bas-reliefs constituting the lower frieze are devoted 
to the chace and to combats between men and animals. 
In the upper part are hares pursued by a dog; beyond is a 
wounded stag pursued by dogs, to whom he is about to 
become the prey; below, a wild boar is seized by an enor- 


THE AMPHITHEATKE. 


239 


mous dog, who has already caused his blood to flow. In the 
middle of the composition a hestiarim has transfixed a bear 



with a stroke of his lance. This person wears a kind of 
short hunting boot, and is clothed as well as his comrade in 



a light tunic without sleeves, bound round the hips, and 
called suhucula. It was the dress of the common people, 



rs we learn from the sculptures on Trajan’s column. The 
companion of this man has transfxcd a bull, which flies, 


240 


POMPEII. 


carrying with him the heavy lance with which he is wounded. 
He turns his head towards his assailant, and seems to wish 
to return to the attack; the man by his gestures appears 
astonished, beholding himself disarmed and at the mercy of 
the animal, whom he thought mortally stricken. Pliny 
(lib. viii. cap. 45) speaks of the ferocity shown by bulls in these 
combats, and of having seen them, when stretched for dead 
on the arena, lift themselves up and renew the combat. 
The following cuts represent the helmets of two of the 
figures at large, and the greaves, or boots. 



Another sort of amphitheatrical amusements consisted in 
witnessing the death of persons under sentence of the law, 
either by the hands of the executioner, or by being exposed 
to the fury of savage animals. The early Christians were 
especially subjected to this species of cruelty. Nero availed 
himself of the prejudice against them to turn aside popular 
indignation after the great conflagration of Eome, wEich is 







THE AMPHITHEATRE, 


241 

commonly ascribed to his own wanton love of mischief; and 
we learn from Tertullian, that, after great public misfor¬ 
tunes, the cry of the populace was, “ To the lions with the 
Christians.”* The Coliseum now owes its preservation to 
the Christian blood so profusely shed within its walls. 
After serving during ages as a quarry of hewn stone for the 
use of all whose station and power entitled them to a share 
in public plunder, it was at last secured from further injury 
by Pope Benedict XIV., who consecrated the building about 
the middle of the last century, and placed it under the pro¬ 
tection of the martyrs, who had there borne testimony with 
their blood to the sincerity of their belief. 

There is nothing in the amphitheatre of Pompeii at variance 
with the general description of this class of ^buildings, and 
our notice of it will therefore necessarily be short. Its 
form, as usual, is oval: the extreme length, from outside 
to outside of the exterior arcade, is 430 feet, its greatest 
breadth is 335 feet. The spectators gained admission by 
tickets, which had numbers or marks on them, corresponding 
with similar signs on the arches through which they entered. 
Those who were entitled to occupy the lower ranges of seats 
passed through the perforated arcades of the lower order; 
those whose place was in the upper portion of the cavea 
ascended by staircases between the seats and the outer wall 
of the building. From hence the women again ascended to 
the upper tier, which was divided into boxes, and appro¬ 
priated to them. The construction consists for the most 
part of the rough masonry called opus incetium, with quoins 
of squared stone, and some trifling restorations of rubble. 
This rude mass was probably once covered with a more 
sumptuous facing of hewn stone; but there are now no 
other traces of it than a few of the key-stones, on one of 
which a chariot and two horses is sculptured, on another a 
head; besides which there are a few stars on the wedge- 
stones. 

At each end of the ellipse were entrances into the arena 
for the combatants, through which the dead bodies were 
dragged out into the spoliarium. These were also the prin- 
cii al approaches to the lower ranges of seats, occupied by 


Tertullian, Apol. 40. 


B 


242 


POMPEII. 


the senators, magistrates, and knights, by means of corridors 
to the right and left which ran round the arena. The ends 
of these passages were secured by metal gratings against the 
intrusion of wild beasts.- In the northern one are nine 



Plau of the Amphitheatre at Pomptii. 


places for pedestals to form a line of separation, dividing the 
entrance into two parts of unequal breadth. The seats are 
elevated above the arena upon a high podium or parapet, 
upon which, when the building was first opened, there 














THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


243 


remained several inscriptions, containing the names of 
duumvirs who had presided upon different occasions. There 
were also paintings in fresco, one representing a tigress 
fighting with a wild boar ; another, a stag chased by a lioness; 
another, a battle between a bull and bear. Other subjects 
comprised candelabra, a distribution of palms among the 
gladiators, winged genii, minstrels, and musicians; but all 
disappeared soon after their exposure to the atmosphere. 
The amphitheatre comprises twenty-four rows of seats, and 
about 20,000 feet of sitting-room: it would consequently 
afford accommodation for something more than ten thousand 
people, exclusive of those who were obliged to take up with 
standing room. 



Bronze Helmet, supposed to have been worn by a gladiator. 


It may be observed that the arena of the amphitheatre of 
Pompeii appears to be formed of the natural surface of the 
earth, and has none of those vast substructions observable at 
Pozzuoli and Capua. It does not therefore appear capable 
of being turned into a Naumachia, nor indeed would it have 
been easy to find there water enough for such a purpose. 

Having now described all the public buildings of Pompeii, 
it will not be out of place to say a few words on their 




244 


POMPEII. 


arcliitecturai cliaracter. The city, as might be expected 
from its antiquity and from its change of masters, having 
been a Greek colony long before its subjugation by the 
Komans, presents us with examples both of Greek and 
Koman architecture, domestic as well as public. The Eo- 
mans borrowed their knowledge of building from the Greeks, 
but they borrowed it as imitators, not as copyists. They 
aimed at variety by altering the details and proportions of 
the several orders, and what they gained in novelty they lost 
in beauty. Hence the Doric and Ionic of the one are im¬ 
mediately distinguishable from the Doric and Ionic of the 
other; the difference between the Corinthian orders is less 
perceptible, consisting chiefly in the foliage of the capital. 
In Greece the Doric gradually changed its character, being 
most robust in the most ancient examples. But the stan¬ 
dard examples of it, built in the age of Pericles, are still 
robust in character, with twenty flutings, or longitudinal 
channels cut in the pillars. The Komans made the column 
more slender, and at the same time increased the number of 
flutings. The original was placed upon the temple floor, 
without even a plinth—the copy was raised upon a pedestal; 
the caj)ital of the former was grave and simple—that of the 
latter was more elaborate, and enriched with mouldings. 
At Pompeii the most characteristic pa.rts of the buildings, 
the entablatui'es and capitals, are almost all destroyed. 
Still enough remains for us in most instances to ascertain 
the style of what remains, and consequently to ascribe to 
them something like a comj)arative date. Thus the columns 
which surrounr] the Forum fulfil the above-named conditions 
of the Grecian Doric; they have no base, contain twenty 
flutings, and have a simple capital. Similar in style are 
those of the triangular forum in the quarter of the theatres ; 
and the schools or tribunal, and the square called the soldiers’ 
quarters are also evidently of Greek design and construction, 
though repaired by their last possessors. It is to be ob¬ 
served, however, that the Doric of Pompeii, though it pre¬ 
serves the Greek taste in the detail of its mouldings, is ex¬ 
ceedingly slender, and in this respect varies materially from 
the most esteemed models of the order. 

Another characteristic of Greek architecture, which points 
out its originality in a striking manner, is that the profiles 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


2^5 


of all its mouldings are drawn by hand, and cannot be me¬ 
chanically described, whereas the Eo'man mouldings are all 
formed on some geometrical construction. Hence the latter 
arc always similar, while the former admit of indefinite 
variety, according to circumstances which might influence 
the architect, though they escape our notice. The reader 
may see an instance of this in a capital from the Parthenon, 
now in the British Museum. Upon cursory examination the 
projecting moulding of the capital under the abacus would 
be taken for the frustum of a cone, whereas it is really a 
very delicate curve. What the object of the architect was in 
tracing this line, which viewed from below must have ap¬ 
peared a straight line, it may not be easy to determine ; but 
without doubt in taking this trouble he was influenced by 
some delicate perception of beauty. It is from this pecu¬ 
liarity in the mouldings that we conclude the small portico, 
propyleeum, or entrance to the triangular forum, was de¬ 
signed by a Greek architect. It is of the Ionic order; the 
mouldings and the volutes or spiral horns are more elegant 
than in the Eoman style. In addition to this the deep sink¬ 
ing under some of the mouldings, which the strictness of 
Eom^n rules did not allow, stamp it as a Greek work, where 
variety and thought were permitted. 

The capital of the Ionic order found in this city differs in 
one respect from all the examples, both Greek and Eoman, 
with which we are acquainted. We allude to the orna¬ 
mented echinus moulding which runs under the volutes, 
which usually is carved to represent eggs within a shell, 
thus :— 



But in the Pompeian examples the egg is very small, and 
the shell or husk is of a different form, more like the section 



24U 


POMPEII. 


of a liorse-cliesnut, showing a small portion of the nut 
where the rind is partially split, from which indeed the idea 
may possibly have been taken. 

The Basilica is similar in the details of its architecture to 
the celebrated Temple of V^esta at Tivoli, supposed to have 
been erected by a Greek architect, and displays marks of 
Grecian taste. 

The oldest building in Pompeii is the Temple of Hercules, 
perhaps erected by the first Greek colonists, or at least 
raised on the site of a more ancient temple. It is Doric, 
and of course Grecian ; and the style observable in its scanty 
remains leads the learned to refer it to the most remote 
antiquity. The most remarkable feature is the swelling of 
the flat part of the echinus moulding, which, when the order 
became perfected in the Parthenon and Temple of Theseus 
at Athens, was made flat or insensibly curved, as may be 
seen in the capital above referred to. The basements also 
of some of the temples may be considered as more ancient 
than the columns reared upon them, and it is very possible 
that both the basement of the Temple of Jupiter and that of 
the Temple of Venus may be of Greek construction. The 
Romans either repaired or rebuilt many of the public buildings 
of the city. The ruins of brick at the end of the Forum, 
opposite the Temple of Jupiter, were built by them; the 
baths, with their vaulted ceiling, they also constructed. The 
Temple of Fortune was erected by a Roman individual, as 
the inscription sets forth; and the Pantheon, Temple of 
Mercury, with the building placed between them, as well as 
the crypto-portico of Eumachia, which is partly built of 
brick, bear evident marks of a Roman origin. The Temple 
of Venus may be considered as Roman, its original Greek 
design having been changed by a coat of plaster, as we have 
already observed. The theatres and amphitheatre are evi¬ 
dently Roman. That the former were so is ascertained 
from inscriptions,* while the latter was, as we well know, of 

* The inscriptions do not necessarily mean that the theatres were built bv 
those wliose names they record. At all events, it’they are originally of Roman 
construction, their situation on the side of a hill is after the Greek fashion ; 
while their vicinity to the Greek temple shows that they were in the oldest 
part of the city. The inscriptions will be found in Mommsen’s Insert. Eejni 
Nenpolitani, p. 115. 


THE AMPHITHEATRE. 


247 


their own invention. The triumphal arches are of course 
Roman, such buildings having been unknown to the Greeks. 
In private dwellings, as well as in public edifices, the same 
mixed character is evident, and adds to their interest. But 
this branch of the subject belongs to the next part 


END OF PART I. 


248 



Ionic Capital.* 


CHAPTER I. 

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 

The first part having been employed in describing the 
public buildings which are preserved in Pompeii, the second 
will contain an account of the most remarkable houses which 
have been disinterred; of the paintings, domestic utensils, 
and other articles found in them; and such information upon 
the domestic manners of the ancient Italians as may seem 
requisite to the illustration of these remains. This branch 
of our subject is not less interesting, nor less extensive than 
the other. Temples and theatres, in equal preservation, and 
of greater splendour than ’ those at Pompeii, may be seen in 
many places; but towards acquainting us with the habita¬ 
tions, the private luxuries and elegancies of ancient life, not 
all the scattered fragments of domestic architecture which 
exist elsewhere have done so much as this city, with its 

* Ionic capital, from Pompeii, witli angular A'olutes. The oi'der partakes 
much of the Doric; being without a base, and having the shaft sharply ter¬ 
minated. Four similar capitals are to be seen at the four angles of the Greco- 
biculan sepulchral monument at Giigenti, commonly called the Sepulchre of 
the Horse. 



















DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


249 


fellow-sufferer, Herculaneum. But as these ancient houses 
differ very much from any now in use, and as we shall have 
continual occasion to use the terms by which Vitruvius, and, 
after him, modern architects, have named their several apart¬ 
ments, it will be useful to preface our descriptions by a short 
account of the steps by which the Komans advanced from 
huts to palaces, as the residences of the more wealthy indivi¬ 
duals among them may be termed, and of the distribution and 
purposes of the rooms, for a general resemblance is to be 
found in the ground-plan of all of them. We shall also give 
an explanation of those architectural terms which we shall 
have occasion most frequently to employ. 

If we ascend to the earliest period of Eoman story, and 
mention the thatched cottage of Eomulus, religiously pre¬ 
served in the Capitol, and repaired from time to time with 
the same rude materials of which it was originally built, it is 
not wdth the purpose of drawing any inference with respect 
to the domestic architecture of that remote and fabulous 
time, or of fatiguing the reader by tracing" the progress of 
this art from the cottage of Eomulus to the golden house of 
Nero. But there is a singularly interesting relic of antiquity 
preserved by Mazois, which this mention of the founder of 
Eome may serve to introduce to our notice. Some time 
since, a quantity of cinerary vases were discovered in the 



Cabin of the Aboriginal Latians. 


neighbournood of Alba, which, on that eminent architect’s 
authority,* “belong unquestionably to the first inhabitants 

* Part ii. p. 5. 





250 


POMPEII. 


of Latium, and ascend beyond the earliest known epochs of 
Italian history, since the spot in which they were found is 
entirely covered with thick beds of lava which have flowed 
from Monte Albano, a volcano of whose eruptions all memory 
:s lost in the night of antiquity.” That which makes these 
urns most curious, is, that they represent the rude habitations 
of the time; and granting that they are genuine, of which 
Mazois expresses no doubt, the nature of these representa¬ 
tions is sufficient warranty of their high antiquity. Here, 
probably, we see the cabins of the aboriginal Latians; and 
such, we may conjecture, was the cottage so long preserved 
with religious veneration in the Capitol. 

To the reign of the first Tarquin is ascribed the intro¬ 
duction of the Etruscan style of architecture, as w'ell in the 
arrangement of houses, as in the magnificent public works, 
the walls, sewers, and Forum, which are said to have been 
built by him. But, to pass hastily over this doubtful ground, 
it is enough to state that we have authority for giving an 
Etruscan origin to the principal divisions of the Eoman 
houses.* These in the early ages were poor and mean. For 
the first five hundred years of the city, the use of tiles was 
unknown, thatch or shingles forming the materials of roofs; 
and a story is told that the consul Publicola, having built a 
house of such splendour, according to the notions of the age, 
as to excite the jealousy of the people, demolished it in a 
single night in hope of regaining his popularity ; conclusive 
proof against the solidity, at least, of the building. Excessive 
expense was guarded against by sumptuary laws ; and it was 
forbidden to build walls exceeding about a foot and a half in 
thickness. This restriction, with the weak nature of the 
materials employed in early times, at first unbaked bricks, 
then wooden frame-work filled up with masonry, limited the 
height of houses to one story, as we are told by Vitruvius: 
and even after baked bricks were known, their size, wffiich 
exceeded the size of those now in use,f rendered it difficult 
to break the joints, and bond the walls sufficiently for lofty 


* Vtirro and Festu<j, quoted by Mazois, part ii. p. 7. 

-t They were a foot and a half long, and a foot broad. This being the case 
the wall would only have been one brick thick, and liable to open at any of 
the joints. We give solidity to walls which are no thicker, by interweaving 
the bricks so that no joint may run through.—Vitruv. ii. 3, 8. 


DOMESTIC ARCHITECTUrwE OF ITALY. 


251 


erections. As population increased, and with it the value of 
ground in the city, economy of room was sought in added 
height, and the increased skill of the architect found means 
to raise houses of several stories. They were then sur¬ 
mounted by a terrace named solarium, from sol, the sun, 
whose genial warmth the inhabitants enjoyed there in the 
winter: while in the summer they frequented it for the sake 
of the cool evening breeze, and the magnificent prospects of 
the city and its environs. Here the Komans loved to take 
their evening repast, and hence the upper story received the 
name of ccenaculum, the supper-room. At last houses reached 
such an extreme height, that Augustus forbad a greater 
elevation than seventy feet to be given them. 

Towards the last years of the republic, the Romans natu¬ 
ralized the arts of Greece among themselves; and Grecian 
architecture came into fashion at Rome, as we may learn, 
among other sources, from the letters of Cicero to Atticus, 
which bear constant testimony to the strong interest which 
he took in ornamenting his several houses, and mention 
Cyrus, his Greek architect. At this time immense fortunes 
were easily made from the spoils of new conquests, or by 
peculation and maladministration of subject provinces, and 
the money thus ill and easily acquired was squandered in 
the most lavish luxury. One favourite mode of indulgence 
was in splendour of building. Lucius Cassius was the first 
who ornamented his house with columns of foreign marble : 
they were only six in number, and twelve feet high. He 
was soon surpassed by Scaurus, who placed in his house 
columns of the black marble called Lucullian, thirty-eight 
feet high, and of such vast and unusual weight that the super¬ 
intendent of sewers, as we are told by Pliny,*' took security 
for any injury which might happen to the works^mider his 
charge, before they were suffered to be conveyed along the 
streets. Another prodigal, by name Mamurra, set the ex¬ 
ample of lining his rooms with slabs of marble. The best 
estimate, however, of the growth of architectural luxury 
about this time may be found in what we are told by Pliny, 
that, in the year of Rome 676, the house of Lepidus was the 
finest in the city, and thirty-five years later it was not the 
hundredth.! We may mention, as an example of the lavish 

♦ Nat. Hi&t. xx.\vi, 2. t 11>. xxxvi. 15. 


202 


POMPEII. 


expenditure of tlie Romans, that Domitius Ahcnobarbus 
offered for the house of Crassus a sum amounting to near 
£48,500, which was refused by the owner.* Nor were they 
less extravagant in their country houses. We may again 
quote Cicero, whose attachment to his Tusculan and Formian 
villas, and interest in ornamenting them, even in the most 
perilous times, is well known. Still more celebrated are the 
villas of Luculliis and Pollio ; of the latter some remains are 
still to be seen near Pausilipo. 

Augustus endeavoured by his example to check this extra¬ 
vagant passion, but he produced little effect. And in the 
palaces of the emperors, and especially the Aurea Domus, the 
Golden House of Nero, the domestic architecture of Rome, 
or, we might probably say, of the world, reached its extreme 
point of magnificence. But these wonders do not belong to 
our pages ; and to dwell on them would but discredit the 
edifices which it is our province to describe, spacious in 
themselves and sumptuous, yet mean in comparison with 
those of which we have just spoken. We therefore proceed 
to offer to'the reader a sketch of the arrangement of a Roman 
house of the better class. 

This arrangement, though varied, of course, by local cir¬ 
cumstances, and according to the rank and circumstances of 
the master, was pretty generally the same in all. The prin¬ 
cipal rooms, differing only in size and ornament, recur every¬ 
where ; those supplemental ones, which were invented only 
for convenience or luxury, vary according to the tastes and 
circumstances of the master. 

Vitruvius directs our attention to one principle of distribu¬ 
tion, strange to modern habits, but of importance towards 
understanding the construction of a Roman house ; that every 
considerable mansion might be divided into two parts, one 
intended for public resort, the other destined for the private 
service of the family. The origin of this may be found in 
the constitution of Rome, by which every plebeian might 
choose from among the patricians a patron, -whose client he 
became, and to whose house he resorted freely for advice or 
assistance. To have a large body of clients was esteemed 
both honourable and advantageous, as the patron might of 
course reckon on their votes and support in all civil matters. 

* Sexagies sestertium. Plin. Hist. Nat. xvii. 1. 


DOMESTIC AECHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


253 


Witli this view, lawyers of eminence gave free access to all 
who wished to consult them; and generally by day-break, or 
before it, the vestibules and ante-rooms of persons of any 
eminence, but especially of those who were distinguished by 
wealth or political power, were filled with a crowd, each 
coming with some particular object, one to recommend him¬ 
self by the regularity of his attendance, another to request 
some favour, another from a wish to display his intimacy 
with the rich and powerful owner, others to receive the dole 
of meat or money which was distributed to needy retainers * 
This crowd was of course received in the outer rooms, so as 
to disturb as little as possible the privacy of the mansion. 
These rooms, which constituted what Vitruvius calls the 
public part, were the portico, vestibule, cavaedium or atrium, 
tablinum, alas, fauces, and others less important, added at the 
will of the owner or architect. 

The private part comprised the peristyle, bed-chambers, 
triclinium, oeci, picture-gallery, library, baths, exedra, xystus, 
&c. We proceed to explain the meaning of these terms. 

Before great mansions, but not in that class of houses 
which we find at Pompeii, there was generally a court or 
area, upon which the portico opened, either surrounding three 
sides of the area, or merely running along the front of the 
house. In smaller houses the portico ranged even with the 
street. Within the portico, or if there was no portico, open¬ 
ing directly to the street, was the vestibule, consisting of one 
or more spacious apartments. It was considered to be with¬ 
out the house, and was always open for the reception of 
those who came to wait there until the doors should be 
opened. The prothyrum, in Greek architecture, was the 
same as the vestibule. In Koman architecture, it was a 
passage-room, between the outer or house-door which opened 
to the vestibule, and an inner door which closed the entrance 
of the atrium. In the vestibule, or in an apartment opening 
upon it, the porter, ostiarius, usually had his seat. 

The atrium, or cavasdium, for they appear to have signified 
the same thing,f was the most important, and usually the 

*-Sportula prime 

Limine pai va sedet, turbse rapienda togatse.—Juv. i. 95. 

See also Cic. ad Alt. v. 2, and the Satirists, passim. 

t Some Commentators on Vitruvius, and among them Mr. Wilkins, deny 
this. The term cavaedium is certainly equally applicable to any other open 


254 


POMPEII. 


most splendid apartment of the house. Here tlie owner re¬ 
ceived his crowd of morning visitors, who were not admitted to 
the inner apartments. The term is thus explained by Varro : 
“ The hollow of the house (cavum sedium) is a covered place 
within the walls, left open to the common use of all. It is 
called Tuscan, from the Tuscans, after the Romans began to 
imitate their caveedium. The word atrium is derived from 
the Atriates, a people of Tuscany, from whom the pattern of 
it was taken.”* Originally, then, the atrium was the common 
room of resort for the whole family, the place of their do¬ 
mestic occupations ; and such it probably continued in the 
humbler ranks of life. A general description of it may 
easily be given. It was a large apartment, roofed over, but 
with an opening in the centre, called compluvium,^ towards 
which the roof sloped, so as to throw the rain-water into a 
cistern in the floor called imvluvium. Vitruvius, however^ 
distinguishes five species of atria. 

1. The Tuscanicum, or Tuscan atrium, the oldest and 
simplest of all. It was merely an apartment, the roof of 
which was supported by four beams meeting one other at 
right angles, the included quadi'angular space forming the 
compluvium. Many of these remain at Pompeii. 

2. The tetrastyle, or four-pillared atrium, resembled the 
Tuscan, except that the girders, or main beams of the roof, 
were supported by pillars, placed at the four angles of the 
impluvium. This furnished means of increasing the size of 
the apartment. 

3. The Corinthian atrium differed from the tetrastyle only 
in the number of pillars and size of the imj)luvium. A 
greater proportion of the roof seems to have been left open 

court, as, f(M’ instance, to the peristyle; and Pliny, in the account of his 
Laurentine villa, makes mention of both atrium and cavajdium, and speaks 
also of the peristyle. No wonder that much obscurity and difference of 
opinion prevail on these subjects, since almost all our knowledge is derived 
from the scanty account of Vitruvius; Jind it is obvious that whatever general 
rules might be recognised by architects, they must have been modified in 
innumerable iiustances by the caprice or convenience of individuals. It is dan¬ 
gerous, therefore, to attempt to wrest the text of an author, to make it square 
with some specimen which has been preserved or described; for we can never 
be sure that the two were even meant to coincide. 

* He Ling. I.at. lib. iv. 

f From con and plnvia, because the rain wafer was brought together there 
The derivation of imoluvium is equally obvious. 


DOMESTIC AKCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 255 

The name is entirely unconnected with the order of architec¬ 
ture to which the columns belonged. 

4. The atrium displuviatum had its roof inclined the 
contrary way, so as to throw the water off to the outside of 
the house, instead of carrying it into the impluvium. 

5. The atrium testudinatum was roofed all over, without 
any vacancy or compluvium. 

The roof around the compluvium was edged with a row of 
highly ornamented tiles, called antefixes, on which a mask or 
some other figure v/as moulded. At the corners there were 
usually spouts, in the form of lions’ or dogs’ heads, or any 
fantastical device which the architect might fancy, which 
carried the rain-water clear out into the impluvium, whence 
it passed into cisterns; from which again it was drawn for 
household purposes. For drinking, river-water, and still 
more, well-water, was preferred. Often the atrium was 
adorned with fountains, supplied through leaden or earthen¬ 
ware pipes, from aqueducts or other raised heads of water; 
for the Eomans knew the property of fluids, which causes 
them to stand at the same height in communicating vessels. 
This is distinctly recognised by Pliny,* though their common 
use of aqueducts, in preference to pipes, has led to a supposi¬ 
tion that this great hydrostatical principle was unknown to 
them. The breadth of the impluvium, according to Vitruvius, 
was not less than a quarter, nor greater than a third, of the 
whole breadth of the atrium ; its length was regulated by the 
same standard. The opening above it was often shaded by a 
coloured veil, which diffused a softened light, and moderated 
the intense heat of an Italian sun|. The splendid columns 
of the house of Scaurus at Eome, were placed, as we learn 
from Pliny,f in the atrium of his house. The walls were 
painted with landscapes or arabesques—a practice introduced 
about the time of Augustus,—or lined with slabs of foreign 
and costly marbles, of which the Eomans were passionately 
fond. The pavement was composed of the same precious 
material, or of still more valuable mosaics. 

” Nat. Hist. xxxi. 6, S. 31: Aqua in plunibo subit altitudinem exortus sui. 

t Rubent (vela sell.) in cavis icdium, et museum a sole detendunt. We 
may conclude, then, that the impluvium was sometimes ornamented with moss or 
flowers, unless the words cavis sedium may be extended to the court of the peris¬ 
tyle, whicli was commonly laid out as a garden. [The latter seems more likely. 

J xxxvi. 1. 


256 


POMPEII. 


The tablinum was an appendage of the atrium, and usually 
entirely open to it. It contained, as its name imports,* the 
family archives, the statues, pictures, genealogical tables, and 
other relics of a long line of ancestors. 

AlaB, wings, were similar but smaller apartments, or rather 
recesses, on each side of the further part of the atrium. Fauces, 
jaws, were passages, more especially those which passed to 
the interior of the house from the atrium. Thus Virgil uses 
the word, not merely in a metaphorical sense :— 

“ Vestibulum ante ipsum, primisq: in faucibus Orci.” 

/Ell. vi. 273. 

In houses of small extent, strangers were lodged in cham¬ 
bers which surrounded and opened into the atrium. The 
great, whose connections spread into the provinces, and who 
were visited by numbers who, on coming to Kome, expected 
to profit by their hospitality, had usually a hospitium, or place 
of reception for strangers, either separate, or among the depen¬ 
dencies of their palaces. 

Of the private apartments the fii*st to be mentioned is the 
peristyle, which usually lay behind the atrium, and commu¬ 
nicated with it both through the tablinum and by fauces. In 
its general plan it resembled the atrium, being in fact a 
court, open to the sky in the middle, and surrounded by a 
colonnade, but it was larger in its dimensions, and the centre 
court was often decorated with shrubs and flowers and foun¬ 
tains, and was then called ocystus. It should be greater in 
extent when measured transversely than in length,| and the 
intercolumniations should not exceed four, nor fall short of 
three diameters of the columns. 

Of the arrangement of the bed-chambers we know little. 
They seem to have been small and inconvenient. When 
there was room they had usually a procoeton, or ante-chamber. 
Vitruvius recommends that they should face the east, for the 
benefit of the early sun. One of the most important apart¬ 
ments in the whole house w^as the triclinium, or dining-room, 
so named from the three beds, rpets KAtVat, which encom¬ 
passed tlie table on three sides, leaving-the fourth open to 

* From tabula, or tabella, a picture. Another derivation is, “ quasi e 
tabulis compactum,” because the large openings into it might be closed by 
shutters. 

t This rule, however, is seldom observed in the Pompian houses. 


DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 257 

the attendants. The prodigality of the Komans in matters 
of eating is well known, and it extended to all matters con¬ 
nected with the pleasures of the table. In their rooms, their 
couches, and all the furniture of their entertainments, magnifi¬ 
cence and extravagance were carried to their highest point. 
The rich had several of these apartments, to be used at 
dilferent seasons, or on various occasions. Lucullus, cele¬ 
brated for his wealth and profuse expenditure, had a certain 
standard of expenditure for each triclinium, so that when his 
servants were told which hall he was to sup in, they knew 
exactly the style of entertainment to be prepared; and there 
is a well-known story of the way in which he deceived Pompey 
and Cicero, when they insisted on going home with him 
to see his family supper, by merely sending word home that 
he would sup in the Apollo, one of the most splendid of his 
halls, in which he never gave an entertainment for less than 
50,000 denarii, about £1600. Sometimes the ceiling was 
contrived to open and let down a second course of meats, 
with showers of flowers and perfumed waters, while rope- 
dancers performed their evolutions over the heads of the 
company. The performances of these funamhuli are fre¬ 
quently represented in paintings at Pompeii. Those in the 
cut in p. 258 have the characteristics of Faims, or, according 
to Lord Monboddo’s theory, have not yet rubbed off their 
tails. Mazois, in his work entitled. “Le Palais de Scaurus,” 
has given a fancy picture of the habitation of a Eoman 
noble of the highest class, in which he has embodied all 
the scattered notices of domestic life, which a diligent pe¬ 
rusal of the Latin writers has enabled him to collect. His 
description of the triclinium of Scaur us will give the 
reader the best notion of the style in which such an 
apartment was furnished and ornamented. For each par¬ 
ticular in the description he quotes some authority. We 
shall not, however, encumber our pages with references to 
a long list of books not likely to be in the possession of most 
readers. 

“ The triclinium is twice as long as it is broad, and divided, 
as it were, into two parts—the upper occupied by the table 
and the couches, the lower left empty for the convenience of 
the attendants and spectators. Around the former the walls, 
up to a certain height, are ornamented with valuable hang- 

s 


258 


POMPEII. 


ings.* The decorations of the rest of the room are noble, 
and yet appropriate to its destination; garlands, entwined 



with ivy and vine-branches, divide the walls into compart¬ 
ments, bordered with fanciful ornaments; in the centre of 

* It was the fall of such hangings that created such confusion at Nasidienus’ 
supper. 

“ Interea suspensa graves aulaea ruians 
In patinam fecere; trahentia pulveris atri 
Quantum non Aquilo Campanis excitat agris.” 

Hor. Sat. ii. 8. 54. 










DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 259 

each of which are painted with admirable elegance young 
Fauns, or half-naked Bacchantes, carrying thyrsi, vases, and 
all the furniture of festive meetings. Above the columns is 
a large frieze, divided into twelve compartments; each of 
these is surmounted by one of the signs of the Zodiac, and 
contains paintings of the meats which are in highest season 
in each month; so that under Sagittary (December), we see 
shrimps, shell-fish, and birds of passage; under Capricorn 
(January), lobsters, sea-fish, wild-boar, and game; under 
Aquarius (February), ducks, plovers, pigeons, water-rails, &c. 

“ Bronze lamps,* dependent from chains of the same metal, 
or raised on richly-wrought candelabra, threw around the 
room a brilliant light. Slaves, set apart for this service, 
watched them, trimmed the wicks, and from time to time 
supplied them with oil. 

“ The table, made of citron wood j- from the extremity of 
Mauritania, more precious than gold, rested upon ivory feet, 
and was covered by a plateau of massive silver, chased and 
carved, weighing five hundred pounds. The couches, which 
would contain thirty persons, were made of bronze overlaid 
with ornaments in silver, gold, and tortoise-shell; the mat¬ 
tresses of Gallic wool, dyed purple ; the valuable cushions, 
stuffed with feathers, were covered with stuffs woven and 
embroidered with silk mixed with threads of gold. Chrysippus 
told us that they were made at Babylon, and had cost four 
millions of sesterces. ± 

“ The mosaic pavement, by a singular caprice of the 
architect, represented all the fragments of a feast, as if they 
had fallen in common course on the floor; so that at the first 
glance the room seemed not to have been swept since the last 
meal, and it was called from hence, dcrapwro? oikos, the ur- 
swept saloon. At the bottom of the hall were set out vases 

* The best of these were made at iEgina. The more common ones cost 
from £20 to £25; some fetched as much as £400.—Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxiv. 3. 

f These citreas mensse have given rise to considerable discussion. Pliny 
says that they were made of the roots or knots of the wood, and esteemed on 
account of their veins and markings, which were like a tiger’s skin, or peacock’s 
tail (1. 13, xiv.). Some copies read cedri for citri ; and it has been suggested 
that the cypress is really meant, the joots and knots of which are large and 
veined; whereas the citron is never used for cabinet work, and is neither 
veined nor knotted. 

\ About £32,200. 


260 


POMPEII. 


of Corinthian brass. This triclinium, the largest of four in 
the palace of Scaurus, would easily contain a table of sixty 
covers '* but he seldom brings together so large a number of 
guests, and when on great occasions he entertains four or five 
hundred persons, it is usually in the atrium. This eating- 
room is reserved for summer; he has others for spring, 
autumn, and winter, for the Romans turn the change of season 
into a source of luxury. His establishment is so appointed 
that for each triclinium he has a great number of tables of 
difierent sorts, and each table has its own service and its j)ar- 
ticular attendants. 

“ While waiting for their masters, young slaves strewed 
over the pavement saw-dust dyed with saftron and vermilion, 
mixed with a brilliant powder made from the lapis specularis, 
or talc.” I 

The reader must not expect to find this magnificent 
picture realized in the comparatively humble houses of 
Pompeii ; though the triclinia which still exist bear witness 
to the elegance of the taste which adorned them. In speak¬ 
ing of these remauLS, we shall find opportunity to introduce 
sorae further account of the Roman banquets. We must now 
pass on to those apartments which are yet undescribed. 

CEci, from oikos, a house, were spacious halls or saloons, 
borrowed from the Greeks. CEci, like atria, were divided 
into tetrastyle and Corinthian; another sort was termed 
Egyptian. They are directed to have the same proportions 
as triclinia, but to be made larger, inasmuch as they are orna¬ 
mented with columns, which triclinia are not. In the 
Corinthian oeci there was but one row of pillars in height, 
supporting the architrave, cornice, and a vaulted roof. The 
Egyptian were more splendid, and more like basilicae, it is 
said, than Corinthian triclinia. In them the pillars supported 
a gallery with paved floor, open to the sky, forming a walk 
round the apartment; and above this lower range a second 
range of pillars was placed, a fourth part less in height, which 

* The common furniture of a triclinium was three couches, placed on three 
sides of a square table, each containing three persons, in accordance with the 
favourite maxim, that a party should not consist of more than the Muses nor 
of fewer than the Graces, not more than nine nor less than three. Where such 
numbers weie entertained, couches must have been placed along the sides oi 
lolig tables. 


DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


261 


supported the roof. The interstices between the pillars were 
closed by walls, for windows are directed to be made between 
them. Another sort of oecus, called by the Greeks cyzicene, is 
said not to have been generally used in Italy ; but some rooms 
answering to the description have been found at Pompeii. 
They were meant for summer use, looking to the north, and if 
possible facing gardens, to which they opened by folding doors. 
Their length and width should be such, that two triclinia, 
or tables, with their couches, facing each other, may be placed 
in them, with ample room for the servants to pass round. 

Pinacotheca, the picture-gallery, and Bibliotheca, the 
library, need no explanation. The latter was usually small, 
as a large number of rolls (volumina) could be contained 
within a narrow space. 

Exedra bore a double signification. It is either a seat, 
intended to contain a number of persons, like those before the 
Grate of Herculaneum, or a spacious hall for conversation and 
the general purposes of society. In the public baths, the 
word is especially applied to those apartments which were 
frequented by the philosophers. 

Of baths, a frequent adjunct to private houses, there is no 
occasion to say anythiug more than has been already stated. 

Such was the arrangement, such the chief apartments of a 
Homan house; they were on the ground-floor, the upper 
stories being for the most part left to the occupation of slaves, 
freedmen, and the lower branches of the family. We must 
except, however, the terrace upon the top of all (solarium), a 
favourite place of resort, often adorned with rare flowers and 
shrubs, planted in huge cases of earth, and with fountains 
and trelHses, under which the evening meal might at pleasure 
be taken. 

The reader will not, of course, suppose that in all houses 
all these apartments were to be found, and in the same order. 
From the confined dwelling of the tradesman to the palace of 
the patrician, all degrees of accommodation and elegance 
were to be found. The only object of this long catalogue is 
to familiarize the reader with the general type of those 
objects which we are about to present to him, and to explain 
at once, and collectively, those terms of art which will be of 
most frequent occurrence. 

The reader will gain a clear idea of a Eoman house from 


262 


POMPEII. 


the ground-plan of that of Pansa, given in a subsequent 
chapter, which is one of the largest and most regularly 
constructed at Pompeii. 

It may not be uninteresting to subjoin the principles laid 
down by Vitruvius for giving to each apartment an aspect 
appropriate to its use, and his observations on the quality of 
accommodation which was requisite for the several classes of 
Eoman citizens. 

“The winter eating-rooms and winter baths ought,” he 
says, “ to face the winter west,* for they are to be used in 
the afternoon, and require both light and heat at that time of 
the day. Bedchambers and libraries should front the east, 
an aspect suited for the better preservation of books, for the 
southern and westerly winds arc most laden with moistm'e, 
and tend to generate damp and moths. The spring and 
autumn triclinia should also look to the east, the summer 
triclinium to the north, that the former may enjoy a temperate, 
the latter as cool an atmosphere as can be gained. Picture- 
galleries and looms for painting and embroidery should also 
look to the north, because the colours used in this work retain 
their brilliancy longer when exposed only to a regular and 
constant light. 

“ The next thing to be considered is by what rules we are 
to be directed in laying out the private parts of houses, and 
liow they should be connected with the public part. For 
those parts are private into which strangers enter not except 
by invitation, as the chambers, triclinia, baths, and the like. 
Other parts are common, and any one may enter them 
uninvited, as the vestibule, cavaedium, peristyle, (fee.! To 
men of ordinary fortune, therefore, magnificent vestibules, 
and tablina, and atria, are needless, for they attend on others 
instead of being attended at home. Those who sell their 
rural produce require shops and stables at the entrances of 
their houses, | granaries and storehouses below, and other 

* “ Hyberna triclinia et balnearia occidentem hybernum spectent.”—Vit. 
lib. vi. cap. 7. 

t This mention of the peristyle seems at variance with the distribution of 
Mazois, in accordance with whose authority we have above ranked the peristyle 
among the private apartments. 

X Several instances of this ari-angement aie observable at Pompeii. The 
shops for disposing of the master’s produce always communicate with the 
interior of the house. 


DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 263 

arrangements whicTi tend more to use than to beauty. The 
houses of money-lenders and of those who farm the revenue, 
should be handsomer and secured from attacks. Lawyers 
and public speakers require more elegant accommodation, and 
rooms that may receive a large assembly. For nobles who 
hold the offices and honours of the state, and consequently are 
exposed to a crowd of suitors, regal vestibules, high halls, and 
spacious peristyles are necessary, with plantations and exten¬ 
sive walks, laid out with every attention to magnificence. 
They should also have libraries, picture-galleries, and basilicae 
laid out upon the scale of public buildings, for in their 
mansions both public business and private suits are often 
decided.” * 

There are preserved in the Capitoline Museum at Eome 
some curious fragments of a plan of Eome engraved on 



Fragment of a Plan of Rome, engraved on marble. 

1 Prothyra, or vestibules; 2. Tuscan atria; 3. Alsea, or wings; 4. Fauces; 

5. Peristyles; 6. Inner apartments ; 7. Shops. 

marble, about the time of Septimius Severus: Mazois refers 
to them, in proof that the houses at Pompeii are in their 
origin and disposition Eoman houses, and not Grecian, as has 
been generally supposed from the Grecian taste which prevails 
in the architecture and decorations. The constant recurrence 

* Vitruv. vi. 7, 8. 














264 


POMPEII. 


of llie atrium, which was not found in the Greek houses, leaves 
in his opinion no doubt u^Don this subject. We copy one of 
these fragments, both as a curious relic, and that the reader 
may have the opportunity of judging for himself of the 
resemblance in general arrangement between the three gi’ound- 
plans contained in it, and those which we shall give hereafter 
from Pompeii. 

We may here add a few observations, derived, as well as 
much of the preceding matter, from the valuable work of 
Mazois, relative to the materials and method of construction 
of the Pompeian houses. Every species of masonry described 
by Vitruvius, it is said, may here be met with; but the 
cheapest and least durable sorts have been generally preferred, 
and by far the greater part of the private, and many of the 
public edifices are built of bricks, or of the rough masonry 
called o^us incertum. Hence arises their rapid decay on 
being exposed to the air. The mortar also, upon which such 
edifices must entirely depend for their stability, does not 
possess that remarkable hardness which is so often seen in 
ancient works; a fault attributed by some to the bad quality 
of its component parts; by others to the baking which it 
received when enveloped in the heated cinders. But as the 
exterior decorative stuccos have received no damage fi*om 
this cause, it seems more likely that carelessness in the 
choice of the materials, or in working them together, has 
produced this badness of quality. 

Copper, iron, lead, have been found employed for the same 
j)urposes as those for which we now use them. Iron is more 
plentiful than copper, contrary to what is generally observed 
in ancient works. It is evident from articles of furniture, 
&c., found in the ruins, that the Italians were highly skilled 
in the art of working metals, yet they seem to have excelled 
in ornamental work, rather than in the solid and neat con¬ 
struction of useful articles. For instance, their lock-work is 
coarse, hardly equal to that which is now executed in the 
same country ; while the external ornaments of doors, bolts, 
handles, &c., are elegantly wrought. We give specimens of 



Ancient Bolt. 






DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


265 


some of these. The key was found in Pompeii, and from its 
size seems to have been a door-key. The bolt is preserved 



Key and Hinge. 



in the Museum at Naples. The hinge and door-handles, one 
of which is remarkably rich, are from various authorities^ 



Not a single wooden door has been preserved in Pompeii. The 
panelling of that which we give, as restored by Mazois, is 
taken from a marble door in the Street of Tombs, together 
with the ring which served as a handle. Almost all the door¬ 
ways in Pompeii are nearly of the same size and form, a little 
more or less care in the execution of capitals and entablatures 













266 


POMPEII, 



Door of a private dweiliug restored. 






































































































































































































































































































































































DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 267 

making all the difference between them, l^hey seem usually 
to have been bivalve, to have turned on pivots, not on hinges, 
and to have been closed by one or two large bolts, such as 
that above represented, received into the threshold. We 
may infer from a number of false doors painted on walls, that 
their colour was generally dark. Their carpentry seems to 
have been very simple; often beams were not even squared. 
The carbonized timbers discovered seem to intimate that fir- 
wood was in most general use. Doors were sometimes 
adorned with large nails having gilt heads. They had 
knockers, or perhaps more generally bells, as may be inferred 
from a passage of Suetonius, in which he alludes to an idea 
of Augustus, to make Jupiter Tonans, whose temple was on 
the ascent to the Capitol, appear as the porter of the Capitoline 
Jove, by affixing bells to it.* Eoman doors always opened 
inside, or into the house; to have a door that opened out¬ 
wards, or into the street, was a peculiar privilege accorded to 
Valerius Publicola. The door was a peculiar object of Eoman 
superstition ; it w'as under the protection of four divinities: 
Janus, who presided over the whole gateway; Forculus, the 
protector of the fores, or two doors; Limentinus, who watched 
over the limen, or threshold ; and Cardea, the special patroness 
of the cardines or hinges. To enter a doorway with the left 
foot was considered a bad omen; on which account a boy 
seems to have been sometimes specially appointed to admonish 
visitors to put the right foot forwards.^ • 

Very little costly decoration is to be found in the houses, 
with the exception of mosaic pavements, which are numerous 
and beautiful; even in the public buildings marble is of rare 
occurrence. Its place, however, was not inadequately filled 
by a stucco of great beauty, equally adapted to receive paint¬ 
ings, or to be modelled into bas-reliefs. No marble wainscot- 
ings or columns hewn from single blocks are seen in the atria 
of Pompeii ; but in their place there is a gaiety and capricious 
elegance, of which but a very inadequate idea can be conveyed 
by description, aided by the wood engravings which w^e are 
able to present. The walls are carefully prepared for the re¬ 
ception of this stucco by several coats of a coarser plaster, 

* Suet on. Aug. 91. 

t Exclamavit puer qui super hoc officium erat po.situs, Dextro pede. Petron, 
Sat. 30. 


POMPEII. 


268 

made of lime, and tlie sand called pozzolana. The stucco 
itself was called alharium, from its whiteness, or opus mar- 
moratum, from its resemblance to marble. It seems to have 
been made of calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, mixed 
with pulverized, but not calcined stone, and, in the more ex¬ 
pensive sort, with powdered marble. Traces left on some 
unfinished work intimate that it was spread with an instrmnent 
resembling that which our plasterers use. A difference in 
quality, and an economy in the use of it, is observable, which 
make it probable that the expense varied greatly according to 
the fineness of the material. Not only is the stucco coarser 
in mean habitations, but where the quality is good in general, 
it is found coarser in those places which are least exposed to 
view. Vitruvius recommends that it should be of considerable 
thickness ; not less, he says, than three coats.^ Yet on the 
columns of the oldest temple in Pompeii, the Greek temple, 
we see a stucco of extreme beauty, harder than stone, and not 
more than a line in thickness. The temples at Paestum have 
received a coat still thinner, and Mazois has expressed an 
opinion founded on his personal observation, that the stucco 
will be found thinner in proportion to the age of the building, 
and that thick stuccos intimate a late date, and the decline of 
the art. 

Ornamental work in relief was formed either by modelling 
or by stamping with a mould. The latter method was used 
for cornices,«borders, and other works where the same pattern 
was repeated. The joinings of the moulds are often visible, 
as in a printed muslin where the ends of the blocks have not 
been accurately fitted. We may conjecture that the stucco 
was dashed in a mass on the wet plaster, the mould forcibly 
applied, and form and adhesion thus given by a single opera¬ 
tion. A bas-relief, or a pattern of uncertain form, was 
modelled by hand. The workman traced the outline of his 
design upon the plaster, and proceeded to fill it up with 
stucco worked to proper consistency, as our sculptors model a 
design in clay. But as the plastic matter soon set, and when 
set was incapable of alteration or addition, no small skill was 
requisite to execute the varied designs, of which a number of 
examples have already been given. The difficulties of this 


vii. 3. 


DOMESTIC AKCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


269 


art are nearly the same as those of fresco painting, in which 
it is w’ell known none but the greatest masters have suc¬ 
ceeded. 

For the common floors*a sort of composition was used, re¬ 
sembling probably the compost floors to be seen in Welsh 
farm-houses and in the north of England. A superior sort 
was called ojpus Signinum, from Signia, a town celebrated for 
its tiles. In this case, the plaster basis was thoroughly 
mixed with pounded tile, which increased its solidity, and 
gave it something the appearance of red granite. Sometimes 
floors were inlaid, while soft, with pieces of white marble, set 
in Grecian frets, and intricate patterns: sometimes the 
ground is white, and the pattern is made of lozenge-shaped 
pieces of tile. Grounds of other colours also occur, of which 
yellow is the most common. Sometimes pieces of marble of 
aU shapes and colours were imbedded in a composition ground, 
and in these floors the chief aim was to collect the greatest 
possible variety of marbles.* Such floors, which Pliny calls 
harbarica or ^tegulanea, appear to have been antecedent to, 
and to have given the first idea of, mosaics, and from the 
method of their construction is derived their nsLme,pavimentum, 
from pavire, to ram down. An intermediate step between 
these pavements and mosaics occurs in what Pliny calls scalp- 
turatum, which seems to have resembled inlaid work; a pat¬ 
tern being chiselled out in the solid ground, and filled up 
with thin leaves of coloured marble. Mosaic floors, as we 
have said, are frequent in the better class of houses, and will 
be fully spoken of in the next chapter. Marble floors are of 
rare occurrence, and mostly destroyed, even where we can 
ascertain their former existence. 

Of the style and mechanical execution of the paintings 
which have been found in such numbers, we shall here say 
nothing. The subject is so interesting and extensive, that a 
separate chapter will be necessary even to a brief sketch of it. 

Numerous preparations of glass, in vases, drinking-cups, 
and other utensils, have been found; but the most curious 
discovery connected with this subject is, that in the first cen¬ 
tury the Komans were incontestably acquainted with the use 
of glass for windows. The first distinct testimony to this 

* This has leeii imitated in the new hall of ti e bronzes, in the Museum at 
Naples. 


POMPEII. 


270 

effect is that of Lactantius, about the end of the third century, 
who speaks of windows fitted with shining glass, or talc;* 
and as neither Pliny nor Seneca, who both speak of windows, 
mention their being composed of the former material, a natural 
conclusion has been drawn that as yet it had not been apjjlied 
to that purpose. Pliny’s omission.is the more remarkable, 
because he speaks at length of the qualities of glass and of 
the construction of windows. The invention of transparent 
windows, of whatever materials, is inferred, from a passage of 
Seneca, not to have been earlier than the Christian era.| 
Before this time thin hides, prepared perhaps like parchment, 
are mentioned as having been employed, and j)robably plates 
of horn, of which Pliny speaks as though they were made into 
lanterns. Such imperfect contrivances probably were only 
brought into use when inclement weather rendered some pro¬ 
tection necessary: and the poor must have been contented 
with curtains or shutters. The transparency of talc, and the 
readiness with which it splits into the thinnest laminae, 
naturally suggested to some ingenious person the idea of 
framing it, and thus at pleasure entirely excluding the air; 
and hence its name of la^is specularis : for it seems much 
more reasonable to conclude that specularis is derived from 
the general term specular, a window, than that whenever the 
word specular is used, it is to be understood as glazed with 
the lapis specularis, as some authors have thought. Another 
stone employed for the same purjDose was called phengites, 
from ^eyyos, light. Pliny’s account of these two substances 
runs as follows :— 

“ As touching talc, it is by nature easy to be cloven into as 
thin flakes as a man will. This kind of glass stone the 
hither part of Spain only in old time did aftbrd us, and the 
same not all throughout, but within the compass of a hundred 
miles, namely, about the city Segobrica; but in these we 
have it from Cyprus, Cappadocia, and Sicily, and of late it 
has been found in Barbary: howbeit the best glass stone 
cometh from Spain and Cappadocia, for it is the tenderest, 
and carrieth the largest panels, although they be not alto¬ 
gether the clearest, but somewhat duskish. There be also of 

* 'De Opificio Dei, cap. v. 

t Qnsedam nostra demum prodiisse memoria scimus, ut specularlorum 
usum, perlucente testa, clarum tr insmittentiura lumen.—Ep. UO. 


DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF ITALY. 


271 


them in Italy, about Bologna: but the same be short and 
small, full of spots also, and joined to pieces of flint; and yet, 
it seemeth that in nature they be much like unto those that 
in Spain be digged out of pits, which they sink to a great 
depth. Moreover, there is found of this talc, enclosed in a 
rock, and lying under the ground, which must be hewed out 
if a man would have them. But for the most part it lieth in 
manner of a vein in the mine by itself, as if it were perfectly 
cut ah’eady by nature; and yet was there never any piece 
known to be above five foot long. Some are of opinion that 
it is a liquid humour of the earth congealed to an ice, after 
the manner of crystal. Certes, that it groweth hard intt) the 
nature of a stone, may appear evidently by this : that when 
any wild beasts are chanced to fall into such pits where this 
glass stone is gotten, the very marrow of their bones (after 
one winter) will be converted and turned into a stony sub¬ 
stance like to the talc itself. Otherwhiles there is found of 
this kind which is black; but the white is of a strange and 
wonderful nature, for being (as it is well known) tender and 
brittle, nothing more, yet it will endure extreme heats and 
frozen cold, and never crack; nay, you shall never see it 
decay for age, keep it so long as you will, so that it may 
escape outward injuries: notwithstanding we do see many 
stones in building laid with strong mortar and cement, yet 
subject to age. There hath been devised also another use of 
talc, namely, to strew with powder of it the floor of the great 
cii'cus in Borne during the running of chariots and other feats 
of activity there performed, to the end that their whiteness 
might give a more lovely gloss to commend the place. In the 
days of Nero, late emperor, there was found in Cappadocia a 
stone as hard as marble, white and transparent, even where it 
is marked with certain tawny streaks or spots: in which 
regard, for that it is so resplendent, it hath found a name to 
be called phengites. Of this stone the said emperor caused 
the Temple of Fortune to be built, called Seia (which King 
Servius had first dedicated), comprised within the compass of 
Nero’s golden house: and therefore when the doors were 
shut it was in the interior as light as day ; yet so as if all the 
light were enclosed within it, and not let in from the air 
through the windows. Moreover, King Juba wi’iteth, that in 
Arabia there is a certain stone found, transparent like glass, 


POMPEII. 


272 

whereof the inhabitants of those parts do make their mirrors 
or looking-glasses.” * 

Pliny speaks of vitrece camercB, glassy chambers, an expres¬ 
sion the exact meaning of which is doubtful; but is in general 
understood to mean rooms lined or wainscoted with^ glass. 
We have met with a passage, which, if the facts contained in 
it were more certainly related, would go far to decide the 
question; and ^vague as the information is, it is still worth 
extractinf^ “ I received a letter from my learned correspon¬ 
dent at Pome, Abate Veniiti, dated Dec. 30th, 1759, wherein 
he informs me that he had lately read in some anecdotes ot 
Cardinal Maximin, ‘ that as they were digging on the rums 
on Mount Ccelius in the last centui'y, they found a room 
belonging to an antique dwelling-house, that had all its sides 
within ornamented with plates of glass, some of them tinged 
with various colours, others of their own natural hue, which 
Avas dusky, occasioned by the thickness of the mass of which 
they consisted. There were likewise in the same apartment 
windoAV-frames composed of marble, and glazed with laminae 
of glass.’ But as the Abate did not take upon himself to 
ascertain the real age of this building, I shall not pretend to 
lay any greater stress on this discovery than I did on the ob¬ 
servation for the sake of Avhich I produced it, for proving the 
point I had then in vieAV, viz., that the usage of glass for 
Avindows was probably nearly of the same antiquity with that 
of adorning houses with it.” f 

* Pliny, translated by Holland, xxxvi. 22 (45, 46). 

+ The curious reader will find this passage, with a more detailed considera¬ 
tion of the subject, in two papers relativ'e to the antiquity of glass windows, by 
Mr. Kixon.—Phil. Transact, vol. 1. p. 601; lii. 123. 



Doric Capital, cut in tufa and covered tvith coloured stucco. The stucco having 
partially fallen, the carving beneath it is shown. 
















273 



CHAPTER II. 

POMPEIAN ART. 

The most remarkable objects with which the interiors of 
Pompeii reward the labour of excavation are paintings and 
mosaics. Frequent mention of these branches of art will be 
made in the course of this work, and it seems expedient 
therefore to collect in a prefatory chapter such information 
respecting them as has been gathered by the diligence of 
learned men either from personal observation, or from the 
scattered notices of ancient writers. The subject of working 
in mosaic will not occupy us long. The art is still exercised 
with success at least equal to that of the Roman workmen, 
as is proved by the magnificent copies of some of the best 
pictures of Italian masters recently executed in the Vatican. 
The most remarkable circumstance connected with the practice 
of it in ancient times is the profusion with which mosaics 
were produced, insomuch that the dwellings of a second-rate 
town abound in specimens rich enough to be transferred to 
the palaces of Naples, and to be enumerated among their 
most precious ornaments. The expense of such works is now* 
so great that they are rarely to be seen even in palaces. 

The mosaics of Pompeii are chiefly composed of black frets, 
or meandering patterns, on a white ground, or white ones on 
a black ground: some of them, however, are executed in 

T 







POMPEII. 


274 

coloured marbles. We may refer to Mr. Donaldson’s work 
on Pompeii, which contains coloured drawings of several, for 
a better notion of these beautiful floors than our means 
enable us to give. In the same work are contained the jjlans 
of eight others, all elegant, and most of them intricate, taken 
from the suburban villa; one of which is remarkable for 
being surrounded by a city wall with gates and towers; 
probably taken from that which then existed at Pompeii. 
The materials of which they are chiefly composed, are small 
2)ieces of blacky and white marble, and red tile, some larger 
than others (^ <5>), so as to take deeper hold in the mortar than 
the rest, and thus form a sort of bonding course, which gave 
stability to the whole. These were set in a very fine cement, 
laid upon a deep bed of mortar, which served as a base. The 
history of their introduction, and the method of pre 23 aring the 
foundation on which they were laid, are thus told by Pliny :— 

“ Painted floors* were first used by the Greeks, who made 
and coloured them with much care, until they were driven 
out by the mosaic floors called lithostrota. The most famous 
workman in this kind was Sosus, who wrought at Pergamus 
the j)avement which is called asarotus oiJcos, the unswept hall, 
made of quarrels or square tesserae of difierent colours, in 
such a way as to resemble the crumbs and scraps that fell 
from the table, and such-like things as usually are swept 
away, as if they were still left by negligence upon the jjave- 
mcnt. There also is admirably re2)resented a dove drinking, 
in such a way that the shadow of her head is cast on the 
water. Other doves are seen sitting on the brim of the vessel 
preening themselves and basking in the sun. The first paved 
floors which came into use were those called barbarica and 
subtegulanea, which were beaten down with rammers, as may 
be known by the name pavimentum, from pavire, to ram. 
The pavements called scalpturata were first introduced into 
Italy in the Temple of Jiq^iter Cai)itolinus, after the beginning 
of the third Punic war. But ere the Cimbric wars began, 
such pavements were in common use at Rome, and men took 
great delight and j)leasure therein. 

♦ These seem to have been merely floors made of stucco, and painted, like 
the sides of walls, of a similar colour. It is not impossible, however, but that 
tliey may have been painted in patterns, and with various colours, and that 
the idea of mosaics was derived from thence. 


POMPEIAN ART. 


27d 


“ For galleries and terraces open to tlie sky, they were 
devised by the Greeks, who, enjoying a warm climate, used 
to cover their houses with them; hut where the rain waters 
freeze, pavements of this sort are not to he trusted. To 
make a terrace of this sort, it is necessary to lay two courses 
of hoards, one athwart the other, the ends of which ought to 
be nailed, that they should not twist nor warp ; which done, 
take two parts of new rubbish, and one of tiles stamped to 
powder; then with other three parts of old rubbish mix two 
parts of lime, and herewith lay a bed of a foot thickness, 
taking care to ram it hard together. Over this must be laid 
a bed of mortar, six fingers thick, and upon this middle couch, 
large paving-tiles, at least two fingers deep. This sort of 
pavement is to be made to rise to the centre in the proportion 
of one inch and a half to ten feet. Being thus laid, it is to 
be planed and polished diligently with some hard stone; 
but, above all, regard is to be had that the boarded floor be 
made of oak. As for such as do start or warp any way, they 
be thought naught. Moreover, it were better to lay a course 
of flint or chaft between it and the lime, to the end that the 
lime may not have so much force to hurt the board underneath 
it. It were also well to put at the bottom a bed of roxmd 
pebbles. 

“ And here I must not forget another kind of those pave¬ 
ments which are called Grsecanica, the manner of which is 
this :—Upon a floor well-beaten with rammers, is laid a bed 
of rubbish, or else broken tile-shards, and then upon it a couch 
of charcoal, well beaten, and driven close together, with sand, 
and lime, and small cinders, well mixed together, to the 
thickness of half a foot, well levelled; and this has the 
appearance of an earthen floor; but, if it be polished with a 
hard smooth stone, the whole pavement will seem all black. 
As for those pavements called lithostrota, which are made of 
divers coloured squares or dice, they came into use in Sylla’i 
time, who made one at Prasneste, in the temple of Fortune, 
which pavement remaineth to be seen at this day.”* 

It may be remarked here, that the Eoman villa at Nortli- 
leigh, in Oxfordshire, examined and described by Mr. Hake- 
will, abounded with ' beautiful pavements. The substratum 


* I’lin xxxvi. 


POMPEII. 


276 

of one of these, which had been broken, was investigated, 
when it was found that the natural soil had been removed to 
a depth of near seven feet, and the space filled up with mate¬ 
rials which bear a near resemblance to those which Pliny 
recommends. The section is thus given by Mr. Hakewill:— 


• ft. in. 

Plaster in which the tesserae are set. ... 0 9 

iStone pitching.0 9 

Ashes and residue of burnt matter .... 1 3 

Soil, &c.10 

Hough stone rubble.10 

Dirt, ashes, oyster-shells, broken pots, &c. . 1 9 


Below this is the natural soil. 

A specimen of the coarser sort of mosaic pavement is to be 
seen in the Townley Gallery, in the British Museum. 

Some very remarkable mosaic pavements have been found 



Mosaic Picture by Dioscorides of Samos. 


in Pompeii, which may truly bo called pictures in mcsaic, 
and surpass in beauty any specimens which have been found 














































MOSAIC OF BATTLE OF ISSUS. 


[To face jKtije 27T. 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































POMPEIAN ART. 


277 

elKcwliere. One of these, has been dra^vn and described in 
p. 203, Part I.: it occupied the central compartment in the 
tablinum of the House of the Tragic Poet. Another was found 
in the house called the Villa of Cicero, without the walls, in 
April, 1762 which, the first and only picture of the kind 
which had then been brought to light, be'came a wonder to 
all who understood ancient art, and could appreciate its 
merits; and was esteemed one of the most precious orna¬ 
ments of the royal collection. The picture represents a 
scene containing four masked figures, playing upon various 
instruments; a tambourine, cymbals, the double pipe, and 
the Pandean pipe ; a selection not unlike the equipment of a 
Pandean band in modern times. The drapery is elegant and 
well folded, and the whole composition is excellently grouped 
and drawn with precision. It is formed of very small pieces 
of glass, of the most beautiful colours, and of various shades. 
The hair, the small leaves which ornament the masks, and 
the eyebrows, are expressed so delicately as almost to escape 
observation. An additional curiosity is given to this valuable 
relic by the name of the painter, which is worked in it at the 
top in black letters—AIO:SKOYPIAH^. 5AMI05. EHOIH^E 
(Dioscorides of Samos wrought this). Winckelmann says that 
a good copy of this was found at StabisB, in the year 1759.f 
Another and a still more remarkable mosaic was dis¬ 
covered in the House of the Eaun, and is perhaps the most 
beautiful and magnificent specimen of the art that has yet 
been found. This mosaic, which is now preserved in the 
museum at Naples, is about eighteen feet long by nine 
broad. ^ The subject represents a battle between Greeks and 
barbarians, the latter apparently of eastern race; but a 
variety of conjectures have been hazarded as to what battle is 
actually depicted. Some have seen in it the combat between 
Patroclus and Sarpedon, and the death of the latter; others 
have recognized in it the battles of the Granicus, of Arbela, 
of Plataea, of Marathon, &c. But the opinion most commonly 
adopted is that of Professor Quaranta, who refers the picture 
to the battle of Issus. The Grecian leader, supposed to 
represent Alexander the Great, is drawn with great beauty 
and vigour. Charging, bareheaded, in the midst of the fight, 

* Pomp. Ant. Hist. t. i. p. 150 ; and Fasc. ii. p. 105. 

t Mus. Borb. vol. iv. pi. 34. 


POMPEII. 


278 

lie has transfixed with his lance one of the Persian leaders, 
whose horse, v\T)nnded in the shoulder, had already fallen. 
The expression of physical agony in the countenance of the 
wounded man is admirably depicted. Another horse, which 
an attendant had brought for him, has arrived too late. The 
death of the Persian general has evidently decided the fortune 
of the day. In the background, the Persian spears are still 
directed against the advancing Greeks. But at the sight of 
the fallen general, another Persian leader in a quadriga, who, 
from the richness of his dress and accoutrements, the height 
of his tiara, and his red chlamys, is probably Darius himself, 
stretches forth his right hand in an attitude of alarm and 
^ despair, while the charioteer urges his horses to precipitate 
flight. Nothing can exceed the vigour with which both men 
and animals are depicted in this unequalled mosaic. If the 
Grecian hero really represents Alexander the Great, the 
mosaic may probably be a copy of a picture by Apelles, 
the only artist privileged to paint the Macedonian conqueror. 
It is unfortunate that the work has suffered much damage on 
the left side, or that which contains the Grecian host. It 
was, however, in this mutilated state when discovered, and 
seems to have been under a process of reparation. The 
border represents a river, apparently the Nile, with a 
crocodile, hippopotamus, ichneumon, ibises, &c.; whence 
some have been led to think that the mosaic is a copy of a 
picture on the same subject known to have been painted by 
a female Egyptian artist named Helena, and brought to 
Rome by Vespasian. 

Although the designs of many of the ancient mosaics 
remain unrivalled, yet the execution of them by no means 
equals the best efforts of modern art.* 

The subject of ancient painting will occupy a greater share 
of our attention. We shall not enter into any antiquarian dis¬ 
cussions concerning the first exercise of a faculty which seems 
almost as natural to man as the use of words; nor attempt to 
give a history of ancient art, which would lead to a long 
digression little connected with Italian history, and not very 
edifying: for though Pliny has collected a vast quantity of 
amusing gossip relative to the Grecian painters and their 

* The editor states this on the authority of an eminent professor of the art, 
the Commendatore Barberi of Home. 


POMPEIAN ART. 


279 


most celebrated works, tbis, in losing its cliffiiseness, would 
lose the best part of its merits. Italy had no school of her 
own, except the Etruscan, which is entirely foreign to 
Pompeii, until she became the rendezvous of Grecian talent. 
The following account is chiefly taken from our constant 
guide, Mazois, verified, and in some instances corrected and 
enlarged, by reference to his originals, and to the researches 
of Sir Humphry Davy concerning the colours employed by 
the ancients in painting.* 

The custom of decorating walls with paintings may be 
traced to a most remote antiquity, without conceding all the 
claims of the Egyptians, who pretend to have discovered it 
six thousand years before the Greeks. Without the parade 
of quoting authorities, recent discoveries, more especially 
those of Belzoni among the royal tombs, prove the existence 
of both drawing and colouring among that remarkable nation 
many centuries before the birth of Christ. The art of por¬ 
traiture was not unknown to the Jews, as we may infer from 
a passage in Ezekiel, xxiii. 14. Homer was acquainted with 
the effects produced by contrast of colours, both* in the 
working of metals and in the labour of the loom* or needle; 
but we believe he makes no mention of painting, except with 
respect to ships, which he calls “ vermilion-cheeked.”f The 
art of design is said to have been first introduced to Greece 
in Corinth, and to have been transported from Greece to 
Italy. This, however, to say the least, is by no means certain. 
The Etruscan tombs and vases, found in such profusion, 
testify that at a very remote period the art of painting was 
cultivated among the Italian nations with zeal, and not with¬ 
out success. Pliny speaks of paintings in a temple at Ardea 
older than the foundation of Pome, and others of equal 
antiquity at Lanuvium and Caare; a date which, whether true 
or false, will at all events hardly command belief in the 
absence of all proof except the historian’s assertion. The 
first Grecian painters who came to Italy are said to have been 
brought over by Demaratus, the father of Tarquinius Priscus, 
king of Rome. At all events the influence which Etruria 
exercised over the arts at Rome during the reign of the Tar- 

* Phil. Transactions, 1815. 

f 6v yap Kv/cAwirecrcrt vee? trdpa p-ikTondprioi 

'OvS' avdpei ktjwi' eyi reicroves.—Odyss. ix, 125. 


POMPEII. 


280 

quins can hardly be questioned; and it is about this time there¬ 
fore at which we may fix the application of painting to pim- 
poses of internal and external decoration in that city. But 
the first recorded specimen of Koman art w^as not executed 
until near t^Yo hundred years later, w^hen one of the noble 
tribe of Fabii painted the Temple of the Goddess of Health, 
and obtained from his performance the surname, Pictor, 
A. u. 450. His performance commanded admiration in its day, 
and was to be seen until the temple was burnt in the reign 
of Claudius. The next artist mentioned by Pliny is Pacuvius, 
the poet, who, one hundred and fifty years later, amused his 
old age by painting the Temple of Hercules in the Forum 
Boarium. Until the time of Augustus, however, it seems to 
have been usual only to paint the walls of houses one single 
colour, relieved with capricious ornaments. That sovereign 
is said by Pliny to have been the first who thought of covering 
whole walls wuth pictures and landscapes. In his time a 
painter named Ludius invented that style of decoration which 
we now call arabesque, or grotesque. It spread rapidly, 
insomuch that the baths of Titus and Livia, the remains dis¬ 
covered at Cumae, Pozzuoli, Herculaneum, Stabiae, Pompeii, in 
short, whatever buildings about that date have been found in 
good preservation, afford numerous and beautiful examples of 
it. Vitruvius was entirely out of conceit with this sort of 
ornament, and declares that such fanciful paintings as are not 
founded in truth cannot be beautiful; but the general voice, 
both in ancient and modern times, has pronounced a very 
different opinion. It was from the paintings found in the 
baths of Rome that Raphael derived the plan of those beauti¬ 
ful frescoes which have made celebrated the gallery of the 
Vatican; and other distinguished artists of the same era, the 
golden period of Italian art, followed in the path which he 
had struck out, until the public and private edifices of Italy 
were filled with these elegant and varied designs. This style 
derived its modern name of grotesque from the subterranean 
rooms (grotte) in which the originals were usually found ; 
rooms not built below the surface of the ground, but buried by 
the gi*adual accumulation of soil, and by the ruin of the lofty 
theriUfe of which they had formed a part. Herculaneum and 
Pompeii present as rich a mine for modern artists to draw 
from as was possessed by the gi'eat masters of the Italian 


POMPEIAN ART. 


281 

school; and it is to be regretted that this, method of decora¬ 
tion should not supersede the perishable, and therefore not 
less expensive, hangings of silk and paper in modern palaces. 

We may here mention a strange, and, as far as we know, 
unique method of painting, of which a few examples are 
observable at Pompeii, which is described as follows by 
Sir W. Gell. “ It is singular that in many cases, though a 
picture be not ill preserved, and may be seen from the most 
convenient distance, a style of painting has been adopted, 
which, though calculated to decorate the wall, is by no means 
intelligible on a nearer approach. In a chamber near the 
entrance of the Chalcidicum, by the statue of Eumachia, is a 
picture, in which, from a certain distance, a town, a tent, and 
something like a marriage ceremony might be perceived, 
but which vanished into an assemblage of apparently un¬ 
meaning blots, so as to entirely elude the skill of an artist 
who was endeavouring to copy it at the distance of three or 
four feet. Another picture of the same kind is or was visible 
in the chamber of the Perseus and Andromeda. An entire 
farm-yard, with animals, a fountain, and a beggar, seemed to 
invite the antiquary to a closer inspection, which only pro¬ 
duced confusion and disappointment, and proved that the 
picture could not be copied, except by a painter possessing 
the skill and touch of the original artist. It is probable that 
those who were in the habit of painting these unreal pictures 
had the art of producing them with great ease and expedition, 
and that they served to fill a compartment where greater 
detail was judged unnecessary.”* 

* “ This art of representing the effect of a picture upon a wall, instead of 
imitating nature itself, is applied with considerable success in the decoration 
of certain modern Italian habitations. The author has seen in the Palazzo 
Sannizzi, at Rieti, a room of magnificent dimensions, on entering which a 
visitor imagines himself in an a|;)artment hung with green damask, and 
decorated with a profusion of splendid pictures. There aie IMadonnas and 
Holy Families, landscapes, animals, and battle pieces, which recall at the 
moment the names and works of the most distinguished artists. • A further 
examination, on a nearer approach, shows that no one of the objects has any 
decided form or outline, or intelligible sign. Not only does the whole collection 
consist in the representation of pictures, but their seemingly gold frames are 
merely wooden mouldings, roughly painted with ochre, most scantily touched 
here and there, in the prominent parts, with gilding, to represent the effects of 
catching lights. Behind each sham picture was nothing but the white wall, 
and the apparently rfch silk hangings consist, in a few narrow stiipes of the 
stuffs between the frames—yet the whole has a good effect.”—(Pompoiana, 
second series, vol. i p. 165-6.) 


POMPEII. 


282 


Landscapes are of frequent occurrence, the perspective ol 
which is not very accurate, though the ancients were by no 
means ignorant of that science. Vitruvius, in the preface to 
his eighth book, speaks of three Athenians—Agatharcus, 
Democritus, and Anaxagoras—w ho had left treatises on linear 
perspective, and he himself speaks of the radical principles 
of the science; that is, of the point of sight, which he calls 
acies ociilorum, and the point of distance, which he calls 
oculorum extensio. In the landscapes at Pompeii, buildings 
usually form a prominent feature. They often partake of 
that indefinite character which we have just described. One 
of these is given further on, in the description of the House 
of the Smaller Fountain. 

The ancients painted on wood, cloth, parchment, ivory, and 
plaster, by means of different processes. The most esteemed 
of all was the encaustic method, which was itself divided into 
three. The first was executed in coloured w^axes, so prepared 
as to be liquid enough to be laid on cold. Naphtha, or spirit 
of turpentine, or any volatile ethereal oil, would be proper 
menstrua to liquify the wax, as they would entirely evaporate, 
leaving the colours solid and firmly fixed behind. The second 
sort w’as done with a graver upon ivory. It was confined to 
very small pictures, and probably held the same station in 
ancient as miniature in modern art. The process consisted in 
first sketching the subject with a graver and then introducing 
colours into the lines.* In the third sort, coloui*ed wax was 
melted by heat and laid on warm with a brush. The Punic 

* This is Mazois’ explanation. It is not clear how cither of these methods 
deserved the name of encaustic, burnt in, unless indeed the wax used for the 
second of them was liquified by fire: but Pliny’s account is so concise, that 
every commentator may put a fresh construction upon it. “ Encausto pingendi 
duo fuisse antiquitus genera constat, cera et in ebore, cestro, id est viriculo, 
donee classes pingi coeperunt” (xxxv. 41). In an anonymous French history ot 
painting we find the following explanation: “ In the first method wax was 
employed, tinged with various colours, and applied to wood, following a sketch 
traced with a hot iron. In the second, which was done on ivory, not merely 
the outline, but the contours of the figures and a general notion of the whole 
subject was given, by means of a sharp heated tool, after which coloure were 
laid on for the shade, leaving the ivory itself for the lights, and completing the 
whole by means of fire.”—(Histoire de la Peinture Ancienne, fol. Lond. 1725, 
Bowyer.) The meaning of the last clause is ambiguous; perhaps that piocess 
of melting the wax is meant which is described in the third method of encaustic 
painting. It is to be observed that Pliny makes no mention of a hot tool, or 
of the use of fire in any way, in speaking of the first two methods. Encaustic 
painting has recently been tried in Germany, and it is said with success. 


POMPEIAN ART. 


283 


or Carthaginian wax was considered the best. It was pre¬ 
pared by bleaching yellow wax for some time in the open air, 
then seething it in the purest sea-water, taken up at a distance 
from shore, mixed with nitre, and skimming off the pure 
particles as they rose to the surface. This was again boiled 
in sea-water, and then exposed to the sun and moon to bleach 
again. If the highest degi'ee of purify was required it was 
boiled a third time. For encaustic painting it was mixed 
with oil, to render it more liquid. Colours thus prepared 
were found to be perfectly uninjured by the action of the 
weather or sea-water, and were therefore much used in 
painting vessels and for all sorts of out-of-door wood-work. 
When it was meant to apply one uniform coat of colour to a 
wall, the stucco was first suffered to dry completely; then an 
even coat of wax and boiling oil, which served as a vehicle 
for the colouring material, was laid on with brushes. The 
wax was then sweated (to use the only word which conveys 
our meaning) by bringing a chafing-dish of hot coals as near 
as possible to the walls, which were then well rubbed with 
pieces of wax taper, and finally received the last polish from 
a fine linen cloth. 

Besides this method, the ancients painted in fresco, as is 
indisputably proved by examination of the paintings found at 
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the thermae at Kome. That they 
did so, is also a necessary induction from a passage in whicli 
Pliny names those colours which were unfit to be applied 
upon moist plaster. In some places at Pompeii, where de¬ 
tached figures have been painted upon a coloured ground, the 
partial destruction of the colours has exposed to view the 
outline, traced upon the wall apparently Avhile wet, by means 
of a graver. None of the ancient authors have given reason 
to suppose that lime-water was used in this process; it is pos¬ 
sible that the colours were embodied in a thin glue or gam. 
We never find two layers of paint one over the other, except 
in the case of figures or ornaments painted on a coloured 
ground ; and it is to be remarked that the designs so painted 
are those which have suffered most from the action of damp 
and air. 

This is very plainly to be observed in a painting of the 
Three Graces, in a private house in the Street of Abundance. 
The entire colour laid subsequently upon the coloured ground 


284 


POMPEII. 


has peeled off in consequence of damp and recent exposure to 
the air, while the outline remains, cut deep into the back¬ 
ground with some sharp instrument. The vigour of the 
touches by which some of these figures are expressed is 
really astonishing. The ancients appear to have painted the 
lighter parts with great body of colour, and rather exagge¬ 
rated the dark touches of the eyes and mouths of their heads, 
which gives to them almost a speaking expression. Besides 
animal glue, the ancients made use of several sorts of gums 
for painting; of these the most esteemed was called sarcocolla. 
They also employed milk, although this application of it is 
regarded as of modern invention. 

The historical paintings of the Eomans were chiefly confined 
to poetical and mythological subjects, the only ones which 
seem to have obtained popularity in the hands of either poets 
or painters. We give a few observations on this subject from 
the author whom we have above quoted, premising that the 
observations which he thinks it necessary to make on the 
imperfection of his beautiful engravings will apply with 
double force to our rough outlines. “ In attempting to pre¬ 
serve a memorial and record of these paintings, the author 
does not imagine that anything more than a faint idea of 
them can be furnished to the reader. An artist of the first 
skill would find it a difficult task to preserve in scanty out¬ 
lines the traces of the force or expression of the original, 
where there is often no outline at all, it being shaded off till 
the forms become indistinct. Indeed, where it can be done, 
nothing is so difficult as to trace an outline from the originals, 
even upon the most transparent paper. At an immense 
expense only, and on a large scale, could any idea be fur¬ 
nished of the touch and style of the painters of antiquity. 
Many also are incorrect as to drawing, yet the additions of 
shade and colour diminish the defect, which in outline 
becomes glaring. Those, however, who wish to study the 
grouping and composition of the ancients, will here find great 
assistance, and history and poetry may be illustrated from 
authority, instead of from fancy. There is no doubt a 
certain degree of sameness even in the coloured originals—a 
defect which must be more visible in outline. The Eomans 
only copied themselves and the Greeks, therefore they had 
not that range over all ages and all situations which is open 


POMPEIAN ART. 


285 

to modern art. The Greeks, who only depicted themselves, 
and an occasional Persian or Amazon, were still more con¬ 
fined as to models. The shading of a modern picture is 
generally artificially contrived by a light let in by a small 
window, or even a small hole in a shutter, purposely closed, 
and which produces an effect rarely observed in nature. The 
ancients, on the contrary, seem to have preferred the light of 
day for their works, and one cuidous advantage is gained by 
it. The pictures of the ancients produce a pleasing effect 
when only surrounded by a simple line of red; while the 
very best of modern paintings is very much indebted to the 
carver and gilder for its gorgeous and burnished frame, 
without which its beauties are so much diminished, that it 
almost ceases to be a decoration to an apartment.”* 

The earlier Grecian masters used only four colours: the 
earth of Melos for white ; Attic ochre for yellow ; sinopis, 
an earth from Pontus, for red ; and lamp-black : and it was 
mth these simple elements that Zeuxis, Polygnotus, and 
others of that age, executed their celebrated works. By 
degrees new colouring substances were found, so that at a 
later period, when Apelles and Protogenes flourished, “ the 
art was perfected,” to use the language of Cicero, from whom 
the preceding statement is also derived. So great indeed is 
the number of pigments mentioned by ancient authors, and 
such the beauty of them, that it is very doubtful, whether 
with all the help of modern science, modern artists possess 
any advantage in this respect over their predecessors. 

The Eomans divided colours into two classes, florid and 
grave (floridi et austeri). The former, on account of their 
high price, were usually provided for the artist by his em¬ 
ployer. These were again divided into natural and artificial, 
or factitious. The florid colours appear to have been six: 
minium, red; chrysocolla, green; armenium, purpurissum, 
indicum, ostrum, various shades of blue. 

Minium was that colour which we now call vermilion, or 
cinnabar. This was at first got from the environs of Ephesus, 
afterwards from Spain, where there was a mine which yielded 
a large revenue. It produced yearly about ten thousand 
pounds weight of ore, which was brought crude to Home 


Pompeiana, second series, vol i. pp. 106-7 


POMPEII. 


286 

under the seal of the sworn superintendents of the mine, and 
prepared there for use. The article being thus monopolized, 
an act was passed that the price should not exceed seventy- 
denarii, about £2 5s. the pound. Minium, besides its beauty, 
was in high estimation as a sacred colour. “ Verrius allegeth 
and rehearseth many authors, whose credit ought not to be 
disproved, who affirm, that the manner was in times past to 
paint the very face of Jupiter's image, upon high and festival 
days, with vermilion: as also that the valiant captaines who 
rode triumphant into Eome, had in former times their bodies 
coloured all over therewith; after which mamicr noble 
Camillus, they say, entered the city in triumph. And even 
at this day, according to that ancient and religious custom, 
ordinary it is to colour all the unguents that are used at 
festival suppers at a high and solemn triumph with vermilion. 
And no one thing do the censors give chai*ge and order to be 
done at their entrance into office before the painting of 
Jupiter’s visage with minium. The cause and motive that 
should induce our ancestors to this ceremony, I marvel much 
at, and cannot tell what it should be.”* 

Chrysocolla was a native substance, found in mines of gold, 
silver, copper, and lead: the best quality was found in 
copper mines, the second in silver mines, the worst in 
lead mines. An artificial sort was made from the sediment 
of water left standing in metallic veins. Pliny says that it 
was rendered green by the herb lutum, w'oad. There is every 
reason to believe that the native chrysocolla was carbonate 
of copper (malachite), and that the artificial was clay impreg¬ 
nated with sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), rendered green 
by a yellov/ dye.I The name of chrysocolla (gold glue) w'as 
probably derived from the green powder used by goldsmiths 
as solder, into which copper entered. All the ancient greens 
examined by Davy proved to be combinations of copper. The 
best quality of this dye cost seven denarii the pound ; the 
second, five; the third, three. These sums will be, respec¬ 
tively, 4s. 6d., 3s. 2d., Is. lid. 

Armenium took its name from the country whence it 
came. Like the two already described, it was a metaUic 

* Pliny, Hist. Nat. xx.xiii. 7. 

t Davy on the colours employed by the ancients in paintinc;.—Phil. Trans. 
1815. 


POMPEIAN ART. 


287 

colour, and was prepared by being ground to an impalpable 
powder. It was of a light blue colour, and cost thirty, 
sesterces a pound, about 4s. lOd. A spurious sort, nearly 
equal to it in quality, was made of a particular sand, brought 
from Spain, and dyed. The price of this was only six denarii, 
about 3s. lOd. 

Piirpurissum, purple, was made from creta argentaria, a fine 
chalk or clay (for the ancients seem to have been ignorant of the 
difference between calcareous and aluminous earths), steeped 
in a purple dye. In colour it ranged between minium and 
blue, and included every degree in the scale of purple shades. 
The best sort came from Pozzuoli. It varied in price from 
one to thirty denarii, from 7fd. to near a pound sterling. 
Purpurissum Indicum was brought from India. It was of a 
deep blue, and probably was the same as indigo. It sold for 
twenty denarii the pound, about 12s. Several lumps of a 
deep blue substance, found in the baths of Titus,‘were 
analyzed by Davy, and found to consist of a frit made by 
means of soda, coloured with oxide of cojqjer. Powdered 
and mixed with chalk, they produced tints exactly corre¬ 
sponding with the blues still preserved on the wall of the 
same baths.* 

Ostrum was a liquid colour, to which the proper consistence 
was given by adding honey. It was produced by the juice 
of a fish called murex, and differed in tint according to the 
country from which it came ; being deeper and more violet 
when brought from the northern, redder when from the 
southern coasts of the Mediterranean.! A pot, containing a 
rose-coloimed substance, also foimd in the baths of Titus, was 
submitted to Davy. The outside had turned to a j^ale cream 
colour, the interior had a lustre approaching to that of car¬ 
mine. He made many experiments without being able to 
determine whether the colouring substance were animal or 
vegetable; but the impression made on his mind seems to 
have been that this was a specimen of the best Tyrian pm’ple. 

The austere colours w'ere more numerous. Pareetonium, 
or Ammonia, was brought from a place of the same name in 
Egypt, on the Mediterranean shore. It was a very thick 
white colour, and was also used to make those stuccos which 


♦ Phil. Trans. 1815. 


t Vitrnv. vii. 13. 


288 


POMPEII. 


required an exceeding hardness. Six pounds were sold for 
one denarius. Among the colours analyzed by Davy was a 
fine white aluminous clay, which may be the same. Another 
sort of white, used especially for the carnations of female 
figures, was called annulare. It was made of chalk and that 
kind of glass of which rings (annuli) were made for the 
common people of Rome. Cerussa, or white lead, was also 
used, especially in the article of ladies’ complexions. 

Of reds, the ancients had red lead (cerussa usta), which is 
said to have been discovered in consequence of a tire in the 
Piraeus, which caught some of the toilet furniture of the 
Athenian ladies. The best sort was of a purplish hue, came 
from Asia Minor, and cost sixteen denarii, about 10s. 4d. 
Of this colour much use was made in shades.* The reader 
must not confuse this colour, which we call minium, with the 
ancient minium or cinnabar, the sulphuret of mercury. A 
spurious sort of burnt cerussa was made at Rome by calcining 
a stony sort of ochre, sil marmorosum, and then quenching it 
in vinegar. Sinopis was an earth of a beautiful red, brought 
from the city of Sinope in Pontus; with it are made most of 
those beautiful red grounds so much admired at Pompeii 
and elsewhere. It was of three shades, the red, the middle, 
and the less red. The best quality came from Lemnos, 
stamped, to show that it was genuine (thence called terra 
Lemnica, terra sigillata), from the Balearic Islands, and from 
Cappadocia. It was also furnished from Egypt. The best 
quality cost three denarii, near 2s. a pound. An inferior 
sort from Africa was called cicerculum, and cost only eight 
asses, about 6d. There was also a colour, called cinnabar 
by the Indians, said to be produced by the mixed blood shed 
by the elephant and dragon in their deadly fights, which of 
all colours most aptly represented blood. This is conjectured 
by Mazois to be cochineal. It is more likely to be the sub¬ 
stance still called dragon’s blood, and much used in the arts, 
which is of a deep red colour; nor do we believe that 
cochineal was known before the discovery of America.^ 

8andaracha was a colour found in gold and silver mines, 

* Sine usta non fiunt umbrae,—Plin. xxxv. 6. 

t During the residence of a fi iend of the author near Pompeii, a pot of red 
colour (crimson) was found, and used with great success as a body colour, by 
a French artist, who bought it of the workmen. 


POMPEIAN ART. 


289 

'varying iu shade between red and yellow. The redder was 
the most esteemed. Eoasted with an equal proportion of 
red lead, it made the colour called sandyx, of a dull hue, 
which, when mixed with sinopis, was called syricuni. This 
was chiefly used as a ground colour. When finished with a 
coat of purpurissum, laid on with white of egg, it counter¬ 
feited minium, or cinnabar; when ostrum was laid on with 
it, it made a purple.* 

For yellows there were used a paler sort of sandaracha, 
which is used by Naevius to describe the colour of a blackbird’s 
beak; orpiment, or sulphuret of arsenic (auri pigmentum); 
and several sorts of ochre, of which the Attic was most highly 
esteemed. This cost two denarii, or Is. 3Jd. The ochre of 
Achaia was used in shades, and cost about 4d. The Gallic, 
or shining ochre, was used for lights, and was still cheaper. 

Atramentum, or black, was of two sorts, natural or artificial. 
The natural was made from a black earth, or from the blood 
of the cuttle-fish, sepia. The artificial was made of the dregs 
of wine carbonized, calcined ivory, or lamp-black. The 
Indian atramentum was esteemed the best: its composition 
was unknown, but it was best imitated with the dregs of 
wine. Kalcanthon, or vitriolic black, was only used for 
staining wood. The black powder, in w'hatever way jDre- 
pared, was used for writing-ink when mixed with gum : when 
used for painting walls it was mixed with glue. 

Caeruleum, or azure, was a sand brought from Egypt, 
Scythia, and Cyprus. It was afterwards manufactured in 
Spain and at Pozzuoli. This imitation was called ceelon. 
The price of the caeruleum was eight denarii. This colour 
was dyed with the juice of herbs, like the chrysocolla. From 
the caeruleum, washed and pounded, was made a paler blue, 
called lomentum. This cost ten denarii. Caeruleum was 
forged with the white earth of Eretria, coloured with dried 
violets macerated in water. 

The green called appianum was a very ordinary colour, 
used to imitate the chrysocolla lutea. It was a chalk, or 
clay, and sold for one sesterce the pound. 

Of these colours, purpurissum, j^urpurissum indicum caeru¬ 
leum, melinum, auri pigmentum, appianum, and cerussa, 


See Histoire de la Peinture Ancienne. 


U 


290 


POMPEII. 


could not be used in painting on a wet surface; consequently 
not for frescoes. They were mixed with wax, and employed 
in encaustic painting. 

The following table presents a general view of all the 
colours of which we have spoken :— 


Florid .... 

Ked.I 

\ Austere . . . 

Yellow.Austere . . . 

{ Florid . . . . 

Austere . . . 

I Florid . . . . 
Green .... ■[ 

(Austere . . . 

White.Austere . . . 

Black.Aiu'.lere . . . 


Minium, or cinnabar. 

Cerussa usta, or red lead. 

Sinopis, of three shades. 
Cicerculum. 

Indian cinnabar, or dragon’s blood 
Sandar^'ha. 

Sandix. 

Syricum. " 

Sandaracha. 

Orpiment. 

Ochre, of several shades. 
Armenium. 

Purpurissum. 

Purpurissum indicum, or indigo. 
Ostrum, or Tyri.iii purple. 
Caeruleum. 

Cadon, or vestorianum. 

Loinentum. 

Chrysocolla, native. 

-, artificial. 

Viride appianuni. 

Paraetonium. 

Cerussa, or white lead. 

Annulare. 

Atramentum. 

-Indicum. 

Kalcanthon. 


We will quote, in conclusion, a few general observations 
of Sir Humphry Davy upon this subject. “It appears from 
the facts which have been stated, and the authorities quoted, 
that the Greek and Roman painters had almost all the same 
colours as those employed by the great Italian masters at 
the period of the revival of the arts in Italy. They had 
indeed the advantage over them in two colours, the Vestorian 
or Egyptian azure, and the Tyrian or marine pur])le. 

“ The azure, of which the excellenee is proved by its 
duration for 1700 years, may be easily and cheaply made. I 
tind that fifteen parts by weight of carbonate of soda, twenty 
parts of powdered opaque flinty and three parts of co^iper 








POMPEIAN ART. 


291 

filings, strongly heated together for two hours, gave a sub¬ 
stance of exactly the same tint and nearly the same degree 
of fusibility, and which, when powdered, produced a fine deep 
blue. 

“ The azure, the red and yellow ochres, and the blacks, 
are the colours which seem not to have changed at all in the 
ancient fresco paintings. The vermilion is darker than 
recently-made Dutch cinnabar, and the red lead is inferior 
in tint to that sold in the shops. The greens in general are 
dull. 

“ Massicot and orpiment were probably among the least 
durable of the ancient colours. 

“ If red and yellow ochres, blacks and whites, were the 
colours most employed by Protogenes and Apelles, so are 
they likewise the colours most employed by Eaphael and 
Titian in their best style. The St. John and Venus, in the 
tribune of the gallery at Florence, offer striking examples of 
pictures, in which all the deeper tints are evidently pro¬ 
duced by red and yellow ochi’es and carbonaceous sub¬ 
stances.”* 

The annexed picture appears to represent either the 
marriage of Masinissa and Sophonisba, or the death of 
Sophonisba, but it is chiefly remarkable for containing a 
portrait of Scipio. What business the Roman general had 
to be present on either of those occasions, it is hard to say. 
The picture is much mutilated, and the back part of Scipio’s 
head and most of his figure are destroyed ; but the face 
remains perfect, and is recognized by Visconti as coinciding 
with the most authentic busts, and especially with a fine 
bronze head in the Museum at Naples. This we believe is 
the only known portrait which has been found. It shows 
that artists did introduce the likenesses of great men into 
their historical compositions, and gives some slight ground 
to hope that other likenesses may hereafter be discovered 
and identified. The figures are placed under a portico, 
projecting upon a garden. A green curtain is stretched 
from column to column, so as to form a back-ground to the 
principal figures. The couch on which the two j)rincipal 
figm*es recline is also green, but it is covered in part with a 


Davy on the colours used in painting by the ancients.—Phil. Trans. 1815. 


292 


POMPEII. 


large violet-coloured cloth, which passes over the shoulders 
of Masinissa, and down to the feet of Sophonisba. Both 



have their heads encircled with a regal diadem. The flesh 
of Masinissa is painted of a clear olive-brown. Sophonisba 
is dressed in a yellow pallium and green tunic. Scipio 














POMPEIAN ART. 


293 


wears his warrior’s dress, with a red mantle. The can¬ 
delabrum behind Masinissa seems meant to represent ivory. 

We cannot close this account better than with two pictm-es 
of rather different character, both representing ‘artists at 
work. The first is a female employed in painting a picture 
of the bearded Bacchus. She is dressed in a light-green 
tunic, without sleeves, over which she wears a dark-red 
mantle. Beside her is a small box, such as, we are told by 
Varro, painters used, divided into compartments, into which 
she dips her brush. She mixes her tints on the palette, 
which she holds in her left hand. 

The other exhibits a gentleman painter of antiquity in 
his studio, pencil in hand, with a sitter before him, and 
surrounded by the apparatus of his art. This subject is 
represented in the engraving on page 295, copied by Mazois 
from a painting found in the Casa Carolina, which fell in 
pieces upon the first rain. It is of grotesque character, like 
one or two which we have already given copies of, represent¬ 
ing deformed pigmies ; but these grotesque paintings are for 
the most part worthy of our attention, for they generally 
represent domestic scenes, and consequently furnish us with 
many hints relative to domestic life and every-day business. 
The picture of which we now speak is one instance of this. 
It represents a pigmy painter, whose only covering is a 
tunic, very remarkably scant in longitude behind. He is at 
work upon the portrait of another pigmy, clothed in a manner 
to indicate a person of distinction : the sinus, or gathering 
of the bosom of the toga, is very observable. The artist is 
seated opposite to his sitter, at an awful distance from the 
picture, in an attitude which makes no common share of 
steadiness of hand requisite to apply the pencil with any 
pretence to accuracy. The picture, already pretty far 
advanced, is placed upon an easel, similar in construction 
to ours. By the side of the artist stands his palette, which 
is a little table with four feet, and by it is a pot to wash his 
pencils in. He therefore was working with gum, or some 
sort of water-colours. But he did not confine himself to this 
branch of the art, for to the right we see his colour-grinder, 
who prepares, in a vessel placed on some hot coals, colours 
mixed with punic wax and oil. Two amateurs, or parasites 
perhaps of the person who is sitting, enter the studio, and 


rOMPElI. 





A female painting a picture of the bearded Bacchus. 














































POMPEIAN ART 


295 


V 











































































































































































































































































296 


POMPEII. 


appear to be conversing with respeet to the pietiire. On the 
noise oeeasioned by their entrance, a seholar seated in the 
distance turns round to look at them. Tlic bird is supposed 
by Mazois to typify some singer, or musician, such as it 
might be customary to introduce to amuse the guests: we 
have no more plausible conjeeture to offer. The picture is 
not complete : a second bird, and on the opposite side a child 
jdaying with a dog, had perished before Mazois copied it. 

But though the paintings and mosaics are the most cha¬ 
racteristic remains of aneient art diseovered in Pompeii, yet 
the sculptures found there, and especially the bronzes, though 



The Dancing Faun. 


in general not equal to those from Hereulaneum, deserve a 
passing word of notice. Some of the smaller bronzes from 
Pompeii especially are unsurpassed for eharacter and vigour 
of execution. Such, particularly, is the statuette of the 
Dancing Faun, found in the house to which it gave name. 
Nothing can exceed the vigour and animation with whieh the 


POMPEIAN APvT. 


297 


figure is executed, as will be seen from tlic annexed engraving. 
It is bearded, and lias the horns and tail of a goat. An 
oaken garland with acorns, some of which seem to have 
fallen from their shells, encircles his head, and proclaims his 
sylvan character. His attitudes display all the animated 
gestures of a drunken dance. His wide-spread arms seem to 
accompany the movements of his feet, and he snaps his fingers 
for joy. 



SiUnus. 


Another little bronze statuette about the same size, repre¬ 
senting Silenus bearing a sort of tray, on which stood a vase, 
discovered in 1864 in a house of no importance, is not inferior 
to the preceding one in character, though the nature of the 
subject does not admit the same spirited execution. Silenus 
seems to stagger under the weight which he is supporting. 




298 


POMPEII. 


The left arm and shoulder are elevated to bear the tray, his 
head sinks upon his chest, his right arm and right leg are 
extended, to enable him to keep his balance. His bald head 
is crowned with a garland of leaves and berries, his loins 
are encircled with a cloth, and on his feet he wears sandals. 
A snake that begins to coil round his arm helps to support 
the tray. The whole figure has so much nature and character 
that we have transferred it to our pages. 



Narcissus. 


Other small and graceful statues in the same material are 
the Narcissus, the Hermaphrodite Apollo, Fortune on a 
globe, the group of Bacchus and Ampelus, &c. The attitude 
of Narcissus, and the earnest expression of his face, as he 
listens for the voice of Echo, are admirably rendered. It is 
considered one of the finest works yet discovered at Pompeii. 
The annexed plate will convey an idea of it. 




POMPEIAN ART. 


299 


Pompeii has yielded but few marble statues of any note; 
but some of those discovered confirm the opini()n that the 
ancients sometimes coloured their statues. Thus a statue of 
Venus leaving the bath, naked from the waist upwards, and 
wringing her dishevelled locks, discovered February IGth, 
1765, bus the hair painted yellow, round her neck is a gilt 
necklace, the breasts and upper part of the stomach are also 
gilt, whilst the drapery which covers the lower members is 
painted blue.* On the same day was discovered close to 
this statue the bronze head of an old man on a marble 
hermos, the eyes of which were formed of some white sub¬ 
stance, while the pupil was of black glass or some transparent 
stone.f A small marble statue of Bacchus, found behind the 
cell of the temple of Isis, February 8th, 1766, had the hair, 
eyebrows, and eyes partly painted, partly gilt; the grapes 
which formed a garland round his head were also coloured. 
On his neck was a gilt necklace, round his arms and wrists 
gilt bracelets. The goat-skin which hung from his shoulders 
was covered with gilt spots ; his buskins were partly coloured, 
partly gilt; the tree against which- he leant, and the tiger 
which stood near him, were also tinted.:]: Another larger 
marble statue of a woman, also found in the Temple of Isis, 
had the flowers on her head, her bracelets, and the upper- 
part of her vest, gilt; whilst her girdle and the lower part of 
her dress were painted red, with gold ornaments.§ A 
colossal statue of an emperor, in Greek marble, discovered 
June 22nd, 1853, had the hair painted red, the mantle purple, 
and the buskins black.|| There were also traces of colour on 
the statue of Holconius found on the pedestal at the bottom 
of the street which bears his name, and on that of Eumachia 
discovered in the Chalcidicum. 

It may be inferred from the parts of another marble 
statue, nearly the size of life, also discovered in the Temple 
of Isis, March 4th, 1766, that the ancients used sometimes 
to dress their statues. The parts found were the head, 
having earrings in the ears, the left hand, the right arm and 
hand, holding a bronze sistrum, and the fore parts of the 
feet. From the appearance and position of these fragments, 

* Fioielii. Pomp. Antiq. Hist., t. i. p. 165. Cf. Quart. Rev. No. 230, 
p. 319. 

t Uitt. 4c., ib. t Ih P- 184. § Ib. p. 185. H lb. t ii. p. 563. 


300 


POMPEII. 


it was evident that they had never formed integral parts of a 
marble statue, and as no remains of the body were found, it 
is conjectured that it must have been of wood.* In this case 
the statue must have been so draped as to conceal all but the 
marble portions of it. 

* Hist. 4c.,‘t i. p. 186. 



Curule C hair; from a picture in Pompeii. 































Bee-hives made of Bronze. 


CHAPTER III. 

PRIVATE HOUSES. 

To notice aU tlie houses excavated at Pompeii, even if there 
were materials for it, would be wearisome in the extreme. We 
intend therefore merely to select some of the most important, 
to be described at length, the arrangement of which may 
serve, with variations according to place and circumstances, 
as a type of the whole. Some, which offer no particularity 
in their construction, are remarkable for the beauty of their 
paintings or other decorations; and, indeed, it is from the 
paintings on the walls that many of the houses have derived 
their names. Some again are designated from mosaics or 
inscriptions on the threshold, from the trade or profession 
evidently exercised by the proprietors, or from some accident, 
as the presence of distinguished persons at their excavation— 
as, for instance, those called the House of the Emperor 
Joseph II., del Gran Duca, degli Scienziati, &c. As it is 
the object of this work to convey a general notion of the 
remains of Pompeii, and to exhibit, as far as our materials 





















POMPEII. 


302 

will permit, the private life of the first century in all its 
degrees, we shall begin with one or two of the shops. These 
present great similarity in their arrangements, and indicate 
that the tribe of shopkeepers was very inferior in wealth and 
comfort to that of our own time and country. They are for 
the most p irt very small, and sometimes without any interior 
apartment on the ground floor. The upper floor must have 
comprised one or two sleeping-rooms; but there is, as we 
believe, only one house in which the upper floor is in 
existence. 

It is rare at Pompeii to see a whole house set apart for 
purposes of trade, a part being occupied by the shop itself, 
the rest furnishing a comfortable dwelling for the owner. 
The houses of the richer classes, instead of presenting a 
handsome elevation to the street, were usually surrounded 
with shops, let out to hire, of that mean, or at least uncom¬ 
fortable sort, which we have already described. They fur¬ 
nished a very considerable source of revenue. Cicero, in a 
letter to Atticus, speaks of the ruinous state into which some 
of his shops had fallen, “ insomuch that not only the men, 
but the mice had quitted them,” and hints at the gain which 
he hoped to derive from this seemingly untoward circum¬ 
stance.* One Julia Felix possessed nine hundred shops, as 
we learn from an inscription in Pompeii, to which we have 
already adverted. We give here the ground-plan of a shop, 
together with a view of the interior, as it has been restored, 
somewhat fancifully, or at least without very sure data, by 
Mazois. 1. Cnrb-stone, which is pierced with several holes, 
perhaps to attach beasts of burden.f 2. The footpath. 
3. The shop. The whole front was entirely open, excepting 
in so far as it is occupied by a broad counter of masonry, 
into which are built four large jars of baked earth, their 
tops being even with the surface of the counter. Behind are 
two small rooms (5, 5), containing nothing of importance. 
The traces of a staircase (4) indicate that there w^as an upper 
floo]'. At niglit the whole front w'as closed with shutters, 
eliding in grooves cut in the lintel and basement wall before 
the counter, and by the door, which in the restored view 
annexed is thrown far back, so as to be hardly visible. 

* Lib. xiv. 9. 

t More probably to fasten an awning projecting over the pavement. 


PRIVATE HOUSES. 


303 


There is an oven at the end of the counter furthest from the 
street, and three steps on the left side, which in the view have 
been presumed to support different sorts of vessels or measures 
for liquids. From these indications it is supposed to have 
been a cook’s shop ; for the sale, perhaps, both of undressed 
and dressed provisions, as is indicated in the view. The 
oven probably served to prepare, and keep constantly hot, 
some popular dishes for the service of any chance customer : 



G round-plan of a Shop. 


the jars might hold oil, olives, or the fish-pickle called gar urn, 
an article of the highest importance in a Eoman kitchen, for 
the manufacture of which Pompeii was celebrated.* Fixed 
vessels appear inconvenient for such uses on account of the 
difficulty of cleaning them out; but the practice, it is said, 
continues to this day at Eome, where the small shopkeei)ers 


* It was made of the entrails of fish macerated in bidne. That made from 
the fish called scomber was the best. This word is sometimes translated a 
herring, but the best authorities render it a mackerel. It was caught, ac¬ 
cording to Pliny, in the Straits of Gibraltar, entering from the ocean, and was 
used for no purpose but to make garum. The best was called garum sociorum, 
a term of which we have seen no satisfactory explanation, and sold for 1000 
sesterces for two congii, about £4 a gallon. An inferior kind, made from the 
anchovy (aphya), was called alec, a name also given to the dregs of garum. 
“No liquid, except unguents,” Pliny says, “ fetched a higher price.’ Hist. 
Nat. xxxi. 43. 



















304 


POMPEII. 


keep their oil in similar jars, fixed in a counter of masonry.* 
All the ornaments in the view are copied from Pompeii. In 
front of the shop, which stands opposite the passage leading 
behind the small theatre to the Soldiers’ Quarters, are three 
stepping-stones, to enable persons to cross the road without 
wetting their feet in had weather. 

In conjimction with a street view, we give the view of 
another shop, which has also a counter containing jars for 



View of a Cook’s Shop restored. 


the reception of some liquid commodity. By some it is 
called a Thermopolium, or shop for the sale of hot drinks, 
while others call it an oil-shop. In front is a fountain. It 
is situated at the angle of the street immediately adjoining 
the House of Pansa, and, as may be seen by referring to the 
map, appears to be of greater extent, and to contain more 
conveniences than is usual in establishments of this sort. 
The left-hand street leads to the Gate of Herculaneum ; the 
right, skirting Pansa’s house, is terminated by the city walls. 
Tracks of wheels are very visible on the pavement. The 


Mazois, p. 44. 




















PRIVATE HOUSES. 305 

interior was gaily painted in blue panels and red borders, as 
we learn from the coloured view in Mr. Donaldson’s Pompeii, 
from which this is taken. The counter is faced and covered 



































POMPEII. 


306 

with marble. Numerous thermopolia have been discovered 
in Pompeii, many of them identified, or supposed to be 
identified, by the stains left upon the counters by wet glasses. 

The following engraving is the ground-plan of another 
shop, affording much more accommodation, and, therefore, 
probably occupied by a more wealthy tradesman. 1. Entrance. 
2. Shop. 3. Covered court, which, in a house of more pre¬ 
tension, would be called an atrium. It is pseudotetrastyle, 



Ground-plan of a Shop. 


the roof being supported by four pillars, two of which are 
engaged in the wall. 4. Impluvium. 5. This room probably 
was the owner^s bedchamber. 6. Staircase leading to one 
small room over the kitchen, 7. Part of the wall of the small 













PRIVATE HOUSES. 


307 

upper chamber still remains. The columns are perfect, and 
are painted red for the lower third of their height: the rest 
is white. It would .be easy to multiply examples, but those 
already given are enough to convey a general notion of this 
class of houses, and there is little or nothing interesting in 
their details. 

We regret very much that the nature of the remains 
furnishes so little information with respect to the course of 
trade. Two remarkable buildings have been found, which 
will be described by themselves, and at length : one a bake¬ 
house ; the other an establishment for fulling and dying cloth, 
of which we may conjecture that a considerable manufacture 
was here carried on, from the ample accommodation provided 
for the dealers in that article in the building called the 
Chalcidicum of Eumachia. With these exceptions, and with 
one or two brief notices of articles found in different quarters, 
we can give no further information connected with the trade 
of the place. ‘ 

Our next plan is that of a small house, yet one superior 
to the last, both in accommodation and in the rank of its pos¬ 
sessor. It was not inhabited by a shopkeeper, for there is 
no shop ; but its limited extent shows that the occupier was a 
person of narrow income, probably either exercising some pro¬ 
fession, or living on a small independent property. Small as 
it is, it approaches more nearly in character to the superior 
class of houses than any yet described. 1. Entrance. 
2. Passage. 3. Staircase leading to a small room, probably 
the master’s bedchamber, and to a terrace extending over the 
length of the passage. 4. Small room for a servant. 6. Large 
room, perhaps serving at once for a kitchen and winter eating- 
room. Or the kitchen may be supposed to have been placed 
inihe space 10, since the humble suppers of persons in this 
rank of life required no extensive prej)aration. 6. Court, or 
garden, half covered with a trellis, as is evident from the 
holes which received the ends of the beams. It was meant 
to shade a stone triclinium, 9 (for the couches themselves, as 
well as the room which contained them were so named), which 
still exists. 7. Canal to receive the rain water, and conduct 
it into a cistern, from which it was drawn for household uses 
through a well-hole, 8. Cisterns of this sort were very care¬ 
fully made. The walls were lined with a strong cement, 


POMPEII. 


308 

made of five parts of sharp sand and two cf quick-lime, mixed 
with fiints, the bottom being paved with the same, and the 
whole well beaten with an iron rammer. If it was wished 



St'iilc uT h'eiL 


Ground-plan of a small House. 

to have the water perfectly pure they did not content them¬ 
selves with a single cistern, but made two or three at different 
levels, so that the water successively deposited the grosser 
and the lighter impurities with which it might be charged. 
Cistern water, when drunk, was usually boiled, to free it from 
any impure matters or smell which it might have contracted 
in the reservoir. It was not in high esteem, and was con- 





























PRIVATE HOUSES. 


309 

sidered to make the voice of those who drank it hoarse and 
disagreeable. Such is the abundance of fountains in Pompeii, 
that it probably was little used except for household pm- 
poses. 11 is a lararium, or domestic chapel, of very small 
dimensions, with a bench running round two sides of it. In 
the centre is a small altar, placed before a niche, ornamented 
with the painting of some goddess holding a cornucopia. She 
is reposing on a couch, closely resembling a modern French 



bed. The mattress is white, striped with violet, and spotted 
with gold : the cushion is violet. The tunic of the goddess 
is blue, the bed, the table, and the cornucopia, gold. This 
house stands just by the Gate of Herculaneum, adjoining the 
broad flight of steps which leads up to the ramparts. Bonucci 
supposes that it belonged to the officer appointed to take 
charge of the gate and walls. 

We may take this opportunity to describe the nature and 
arrangement of the triclinium, of which such frequent men¬ 
tion has been made. In the earlier times of Eome men sat 
at table—the habit of reclining was introduced from Carthage 
after the Punic wars. At first these beds were clumsy in 
form, and covered with mattresses stuffed with rushes or 
straw. Hair and wool mattresses were introduced from Gaul 
at a later period, and were soon followed by cushions stuffed 
with feathers. At first these tricliniary beds were small, 
low, and round, and made of wood : afterwards, in the time of 
Augustus, square and highly ornamented couches came into 





















POMPEII. 


310 

fashion. In the reign of Tiberius they began to be veneered 
with costly woods or tortoiseshell, and were covered with 
valuable embroideries, the richest of which came from Baby¬ 
lon, and cost incredible sums. 

Each couch contained three persons, and, properly, the 
whole arrangement consisted of three couches, so that the 
number at table did not exceed the number of the Muses, 
and each person had his seat according to his rank and 



Plan of a Triclinium, showing the disposition of the guests, 

dignity. The places were thus appropriated : —1. The host. 
2. His wife. 3. Guest. 4. Consular place, or place of 
honour. This was the most convenient situation at table, 
because he who occupied it, resting on his left arm, could 
easily with his right reach any part of the table without in¬ 
convenience to his neighbours. It was therefore set apart 
for the person of highest rank. 5, G, 7, 8, 9. Other guests. 
We may here introduce a picture of a domestic supper-party. 
The young man reclining on the couch is drinking from a 
horn pierced at the smaller end, so as to allow the wine to 
flow in a thin stream into his mouth. The female seated 
beside him stretches out her hand to a servant, to receive 
what appears to be her myrotheca, or box of perfumes. The 
table and the ground are strewed with flowers. 

The entertainment itself usually comprised three services ; 
the first consisting of fresh eggs, olives, oysters, salad, and 
other light delicacies; the second of made dishes, fish, and 
roast meats; the third of pastry, confectionary, and fruits. 
A remarkable painting, discovered at Pompeii, giv a curious 










PRIVATE HOUSES. 


311 


idea of a complete feast. It represents a table set out with 
every requisite for a grand dinner. In the centre is a large 
dish, in which four peacocks are placed, one at each corner, 
forming a magnificent dome with their tails. All round are 





lobsters—one holding in his claws a blue egg, a second an 
oyster, a third a stuffed rat, a fourth a little basket full of 
grasshoppers. Four dishes of fish decorate the bottom, above 
which are several partridges, and hares, and squirrels, each 
holding its head between its paws. The whole is surrounded 
by something resembling a German sausage; then comes a 
row of yolks of eggs ; then a row of peaches, small melons, 
and cherries; and lastly, a row of vegetables of different 
sorts. The whole is covered with a sort of green-coloured 
sauce.* 

Another house, also of the minor class, yet superior to any 
hitherto described, is recommended to our notice by the 
beauty of the paintings found. That the proprietor was not 
rich is evident from its limited extent and accommodation ; 


* Donaldson. 





312 


POMPEII. 


yet he had some small property, as we may infer from the 
shop communicating with the house, in which were sold such 
articles of agricultural produce as were not required for the 


t/ V 0.1 ft 



use of the family. 1. Prothyrum. 2. Atrium displuviatum, 
a rare instance of this method of building. That the apart¬ 
ment in question belonged to this class of atria is proved by 
holes in the outer wall, in which struts to support the pro¬ 
jecting eaves were fixed; and also by the impluvium, 3, 
which has no issue to carry off the water, being merely 
intended to receive the small quantity of rain which fell 
through the apertm’e of the compluvium. And, not being 
exposed to the heavy drippings of the roof, the low wall 
round the impluvium is hollowed into little comjDartments, 
to be filled with earth and planted with fiowers. 4. Well- 
hole communicating with a cistern under ground. 5. Stair. 
6, 7. Apartments carefully decorated, but with nothing to 
fix their destination to any particular purpose. Probably the 
larger served as a triclinium. 8. Room, probably of the 
atriensis, the slave who had charge of the house. 9. Kitchen. 
10. Shop. 

This house w'as formerly decorated with paintings taken 
from the Odyssey, and from the elegant fictions of Grecian 
mythology. When Mazois visited it in 1812, two paintings 
in the atrium were still in existence, though in a very perishing 
state. Shortly after he had copied them they fell, owing to 
the plaster detaching itself from the wall. One of them is 
taken from the Odyssey, and represents Ulysses and Circe, at 


















PRIVATE HOUSES. 


313 


the moment when the hero, having drank the charmed cup 
with impunity, by virtue of the antidote given him by 
Mercury, di*aws his sword and advances to avenge his com¬ 
panions.* The goddess, terrified, makes her submission at 
once, as described by Homer, while her two attendants fly in 
alarm; yet one of them, with a natural curiosity, cannot resist 
the temptation to look back, and observe the termination of 




Painting representing Circe and Ulysses. 


SO unexpected a scene. Circe uses the very gesture of sup¬ 
plication so constantly described by Homer and the tragedians, 
as she sinks on her knees, extending one hand to clasp the 
knees of Ulysses, with the other endeavouring to touch his 
beard.f This picture is remarkable, as teaching us the origin 
of that ugly and unmeaning glory with which the heads of 
saints are often surrounded. The Italians borrowed it from 
the Greek artists of the lower empire, in whose paintings it 

* “ Hence, seek the st}-—there wallow with thy friends.” 

She spake. I drawing from beside my thigh 
My faulchion keen, with death-denouncing looks 
Rushed on her; she with a shrill scream of fear 
Kan under my raised arm, seized fast my knees, 

And in winged accents plaintive thus began: 

“ Say, who art thou,” &c.—Cowper’s Odyss. x. 320. 
f She sat before him, clasped with her left hand 
His knees ; her right beneath his chin she placed. 

And thus the king, Saturnian Jove, implored.—II. i. 500. 













POMPEII. 


314 

generally has the appearance, as we believe, of a solid plate 
of gold. The glory round Circe’s head has the same cha¬ 
racter, the outer limb or circle being strongly defined, not 
shaded off and dividing into rays, as we usually see it in the 
Italian school. This glory was called nimbus,* or aureola, 
and is defined by Servius to be “ the luminous fluid which 
encircles the heads of the gods.” It belongs with peculiar 
propriety to Circe, as the daughter of the sun. The emperors, 
with their usual modesty, assumed it as the mark of their 
divinity; and, under this respectable patronage, it passed, 
like many other Pagan superstitions and customs, into the 
use of the church. 

The other 'picture represents Achilles at Scyros, where 
Thetis had hidden him among the daughters of Lycomedes, 
to prevent his engaging in the Trojan war. Ulysses dis¬ 
covered biiTi by bringing for sale arms mixed with female 
trinkets, in the character of a merchant. The story is well 
known. The painting represents the moment when the 
young hero is seizing the arms. Deidamia seems not to 
know what to make of the matter, and tries to hold him back, 
while Ulysses is seen behind with his finger on his lips, closely 
observing all that passes. 

We will now take a house of a better class, yet still inter¬ 
mediate between those which we have been describing and 
the houses of the first class in Pompeii; and there is none 
which will suit our purpose better than the Casa Carolina, 

* Hence we may collect the true meaning of nimbus in the line— 

----Summas arces Tritonia Pallas 

Insfcdit, nimtA) effulgens, et Goigone sseva.—-En. xi. 615. 

Mazois continues, that sculptors, not having the resources of colour, and ot 
licrht and shade, placed a solid disc about the heads of their statues to represent 
the nimbus, and that this was the ixr}vicrKOi spoken of by Aristophanes, Aves, v. 
1114, edDind. 

r)v Se jw-Tj Kp(vr}Te, ^aXirevecrfle firivCa-KOVi ^opeiv, 
iorrnep av^ptavreg’ ws vpiSiv og av p-rj piijv’ exy, 
oiav e'xijre Aev/cr/v rore p.a\L<T9’ ovtw St/crjv 

^oxrefl’ iipilv, Tracrt rots 6pvt<ri tcaraTihiofievoi, 

The explanation is plausible, and it seems more probable that the ix.y]vL(rKog was 
used for this purpose, than that it was merely to protect the statue against the 
ill manners alluded to in the text, as the Scholiast says. But we are not 
aware that there is any positive evidence in its favour, or that any statues 
with the firiviaKog have been found, though the aureola has frequently been 
observed on bas-reliefs representing Apollo or Diana.—See Antiquite's d’Her- 
culaneum, a’oI. ii. p. 35. 



PRIVATE HOUSES. 


315 


as it is called, the House of Queen Caroline,” so named 
because it was excavated in her presence. 1. Vestibule. 
2. Corinthian atrium, a species of atrium of rare occurrence 
in Pompeii. The roof is supported by square pillars, painted 
with foliage, as if in imitation of climbing-plants, placed upon 
a pluteum or dwarf wall which surrounds the impluvium, or 
court rather, for there was a small basin in the centre for the 



Plan of the House of Queen Caroline. 

reception of rain water, which was further supplied by a 
fountain. 5. Kitchen, lighted by windows to the street. 
6, 7, 8, 12. Eooms for various purposes surrounding the 
atrium. Opposite to the prothyrum is the tablinum, 9, 
entirely open to the atrium as Vitruvius describes, but closed 
at the other end, which is not usual. 10. Ala, richly decorated 
with tasteful paintings, which, when Mazois wrote, 
perfect preservation. 11. Lararium, decorated as richly as 

* The wife of Murat. 

































POMPEII. 


316 



the ala, and in the same taste. 13. Passage to another 
division of the house, which contains all the parts necessaiy 
for a small but separate establishment, and could have been 
made such by merely closing up the door of communication. 
It has, 14, its own entry; a court, 15; a kitchen, 18; and 
four rooms marked 17, for the various uses of the family. In 
the centre of the court, where we see the places of two 
pillars, destined apparently to support a trellis, like that 
described in the former part of this chapter, there is a circular 
triclinium, if the expression is allowable, of masonry. This 
was properly called stibadium* as we learn from Servius’s 
definition of that word, that it is a semicircular bed suitable 
to a round table, which the Eomans used instead of three 
beds, after tables made of citron wood came into general 
use.”t This sort of table was also called sigma, from its 
likeness to the Greek letter, as we learn from Martial, who 
also tells us how many persons it was meant to hold. 

Accipe luiiata scriptum testudine sigma. 

0(do capit; venial quisquis amicus erit.—xiv. 87. 

In another epigram he speaks of seven, as the number which 
his sigma would hold. ‘In the centre stood a round table on 
one foot, called thence monopodium. Several marble tables of 
this sort have been found during the course of the excavations. 

The paintings found here, described by Mazois as being in 
good preservation, have been so often wetted to refresh the 
colours for the gratification of visitors, that very few traces of 
them now remain. Two of them are engraved in Sir W. Gell’s 
Pompeii. The subject of one is doubtful; it has been ex¬ 
plained to be Diana and Endymion, or Venus and Adonis : 
the latter seems to be the most probable. It contains only 
three figures : a youth sitting down, whose head is encircled 
with rays of light, holding two spears; a female figure of 
great beauty approaching him; and between them Hymen, 
with his torch and a palm-branch. The female is rather 
scantily dressed, but richly ornamented with earrings, neck¬ 
lace, armlets, and bracelets. The other picture represents 
Perseus and Andromeda, after the hero has slain the monster. 
He holds behind him something like a skull, which is pro- 
* The diminutive of o-ri/Sas, a bed, from o-Tei'/Sw, to tread; properly a bed of 
leaves and herbs. 

t Serv. ap. iEn. i. 702. 


PKIVATE HOUSES. 


317 


bably intended for Medusa's head, and his double-pointed 
sword, a very inconvenient-looking weapon, lies beside him 
on the groimd. Andromeda is in full costume, and wears a 
white tunic with a blue peplum, or large wrapper. The 
ancient painters seem to have had no very wide choice of 
subjects. Almost all their serious compositions are mytho¬ 
logical, and the desertion of Ariadne and the deliverance of 
Andromeda recur so frequently at Pompeii, that we may 
conclude these stories enjoyed a very extensive popularity. 
They were indeed well suited to that display of the human 
figure, in which the ancients took so much delight. In a 
neighbouring house is a beautiful painting of Venus and 
Adonis. His dogs lie at his feet, and a Cupid armed with 
two spears stands beside him, bewailing the untimely fate of 
the young hunter. In the same house are several tasteful 
decorations, and among them marine horses engaged in a 
variety of gambols.* 


* Cell. 



Mercury, from a painting. 






318 


POMPEII, 



-CHAPTER IV. 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 

The house which we are now about to describe is, in respect 
of regularity of plan and extent, the most remarkable contained 
within the walls. It was evidently the residence of one of the 
chief men of Pompeii, and from the words PANS AM. MT), 
painted in red near the principal entrance, but now obliterated, 
has been usually denominated the House of Pansa.* It is 
well observed, however, by Mazois, that the name being in the 
accusative, this is evidently one of the laudatory inscriptions 
in honour of an aBdile, or some other high officer, common in 
Pompeii; and that though the aedile Pansa is as likely to 
have lived here as any other person, there is no dependence 
on the correctness of the name thus given. We shall con¬ 
tinue, however, for the sake of clearness, to use the name 
under which it is generally known. Several inscriptions 
bearing the name of Cusj^ius Pansa, aedile, have been found. 

By reference to the map, in which it is marked, the reader 
will see it occuj)ies an entire insula, that is, it is completely 

* The whole inscription was :— 

PANSAM 
PAHAT VS ROG. 

whence it is as likely to have been the house of Paratus as of Pansa. See 
J^oinp. Ant. Hist., t, i. fasc. iii. p. 157. 'i’he inscription was not laudatory, 
but proposed Pansa as aedile. On such inscriptions see below, Chap. ix.—E 




HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


319 


surrounded by streets, in the centre of the town, in one of 
the best situations, close to the baths, and near the Forum. 



Plan of the House of Pansa. 

Including the garden, which occupies a third of the whole 
length, the area on which it stands is about three hundred 














































320 


POMPEII. 


feet by one hundred : part of this, however, as is usual, is 
occupied by shops belonging to the owner, and let out by 
him. 

a, the Vestibulum, the inner threshold of which had a 
mosaic with the inscription SALVE. 1. Prothyrum paved 
with mosaic. 2. Tuscan atrium. 3. Impluvium. 4. Alas. 
6. Open tablinum, paved with mosaic, serving as a passage to 
the peristyle, 8. There is also however a passage (fauces), 

6, beside it; and though the tablinum was left open for the 
sake of the effect produced by thus making the whole length 
of the house visible at once, it was probably closed by a 
bronze or wooden railing, so as only to allow the master of 
the house or the family to pass through it. The apartments, 

7, on each side of the atrium were probably meant for the 
reception of guests entitled to claim hospitality, who came 
to the House of Pansa when pleasure or business brought 
them to Pompeii. We have already stated, that when there 
was no hospitium, or separate building for the reception of 
such persons, it was customary to lodge them in the atrium, or 
public part of the house. The larger rooms, beside the tablinum, 
marked 7, might serve for winter reception-rooms for clients, 
winter triclinia, or many other purposes, all equally probable 
and equally uncertain. 9. The peristyle. 10. Private pas¬ 
sage* andpos/zewm. On the pier, between the two doors, was a 
painting representing one of the guardian serpents, of which 
we shall speak fully in describing the House of Sallust, by 
the side of which is a projecting brick, to receive a lamp 
lighted in honour of the Dii Custodes. This painting, from 
its situation, could only be seen by persons within the house ; 
but on the opposite wall there was a cross worked in bas- 
relief upon a panel of white stucco, in such a way as to be 
visible to all passers. On this symbol Mazois has founded 
a conjecture that the owner of the shop may have been a 
Christian. His words are to the following purport: “ Though 
the first Christians have represented this symbol of Chris¬ 
tianity under the form of a Greek, or equibrachial cross, and 
the limbs of this cross are of unequal length, I cannot bring 
myself to see merely some unknown instrument in it, as 

* The use of such a passage to a great man is obvious:— 

---Kebus omissis 

Atria servantem postico falle clientem.—Hor. Ep. i. v. SO. 



HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


321 


many persons Lave done, to whom I have shown this drawing 
of it. In truth, it is difficult not to recognize in it the Latin 
cross, which would be nothing extraordinary, since Pompeii 
was not destroyed till the first year of the reign of Titus. 
But if it be a cross, how can we explain the juxtaposition, 
the mixture of this symbol of a new and pure religion with 
the images and practices of one of the most absurd supersti¬ 
tions of antiquity ? It is hard to conceive that the same 
man could at once bow before the cross of Christ, and pay 
homage to Janus, Ferculus, Limentinus, Cardia, the deities 
of the thresholds and the hinges of doors; still more that he 
should adore it in combination with that emblem of an in¬ 
comprehensible worship which is close at hand.* Perhaps 
at this time the cross was a mysterious hieroglyphic of mean¬ 
ing unknown, except to those who had embraced the Christian 
faith; wLich, placed here among the symbols of paganism, as 
if in testimony of gratitude, informed the faithful that the 
truth had here found an asylum with a poor man, under the 
safeguard of all the popular superstitions.”t On the proba¬ 
bility of this conjecture we shall offer no opinion, leaving it 
to the decision of those who are best acquainted with the 
minutiae of religious history. If admitted, it would carry 
the use of the cross to an earlier period than any we believe 
to which it has yet been traced.| But to return from this 
digression. 11. Basin. 12. Bedchambers. The centre one 
seems to have been a procaeton, or anteroom, since it com- 

* Above the aperture of the oven in bas-relief; below are the words, “liiC 
habitat felicitas.” • 

t Mazois, part ii. p. 84. 

X This very unsatisfactory story contains the only indication of Christianity, 
if such it can be called, hitherto discovered at Pompeii. That Christians may 
have existed there is quite possible, but that they should have ventured to 
exhibit any public sign of their l eligion is in the highest degree improbable, 
as well as that they should have exhibited them in company with pagan 
emblems. No vestiges remain of the objects so vaguely described by Mazois ; 
and the editor has been assured by the Commendatore Kiorelli, the present 
learned director of the excavations, that no Christian symbols have ever been 
discovered at Pompeii. It is said indeed, that in a house in the Vico dei 
Lupanari may be traced, written in charcoal, the letters . . . N1 GAVDll 
. . . HRISTIANII; which have with probability been supplemented, ignx 
gaude Christiane (rejoice in the fire, Christian). But these words may have 
reference to the burning of the Christians at Borne, in the time of Nero (see 
Overbeok, B. ii. S. 115), and they proceeded at all events from a pagan.—E d. 

Y 


322 POMPEII. 

miinicatGS witli tliG onG bGyond it. 13. Is callGd by Donald¬ 
son thG library; by Mazois, a pantry, or room to arrange 
tliG disliGS before they were introduced into 14, the triclinium. 
15. Probably winter triclinium. Donaldson calls this room 
the lararium. 16. Large oecus. We may call this a cyzi- 
cene oecus, or hall, since it exactly corresponds with the 
definition of this sort of apartment given before, in its 
spaciousness, its northern aspect, and its large opening to 
the garden. 17. Fauces leading from the peristyle to the 
garden, to avoid making a passage-room of the oecus. 18. 
Kitchen. 19. Servants’ hall, with a back door to the street, 
or it may be a stable. 20. Cabinet looking to the garden. 
21. Portico of two stories ; a clear indication that this house 
had at least one upper floor. The staircase however has so 
entirely perished that its site is unknown, although there is 
some indication of one in the passage (10). 22. Garden : in 

one corner, 27, is a reservoir supplying a tank, 28. 

Hitherto we have been exclusively concerned with the ' 
private house of Pansa, but the insula contains a good deal 
which was not in his own occupation, and which indeed we 
may conjecture produced him a handsome rental. 23. Four 
shops, let out to tenants. 24. Shop belonging to the house, 
probably intended for the sale of the spare agricultural pro¬ 
duce of the owner’s estates. A slave named dispensator had 
the charge of it, and seems to have occupied the room behind, 
which has an entrance both into the shop and atrium. The 
produce of the farms of the modern Italian nobles is still 
vended in the same way, in a small room on the ground-floor 
of their palaces. 25, 29. Two baking establishments, the 
latter having one of the shops numbered 23. 

The ground plan will indicate the disposition of the other 
bakery. In the centre of the large apartment, 26, are three 
mills, a, a, a, and near them a large table, b. Flanking the 
entrance to the oven, /. are three large vases, and in the left- 
hand corner is a kneading-trough, c, ^vith two coppers placed 
over furnaces. The apartment, 31, from its comiflunication 
both with the shop and the bakery, was probably used as a 
storeroom. 

The two compartments marked 30 are houses of a very 
mean class, having formerly an upper story. Behind the 
last of them is a court, which gives light to one of the 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 323 

chambers of Pansa’s house. On the other side of the island 
are three houses (32), small but of much more respectable 
extent and accommodation, which probably were also meant 
to be let. In that nearest the garden were found the skele¬ 
tons of four women, with gold car and finger rings .having 
engraved stones, besides other valuables; showing that such 
inquilini, or lodgers, were not always of the lowest class. 



View of the Entrance to the House of Pansa, 

Our view of this house is taken from the front of the door¬ 
way It olfers to the eye, successively, the doorway, the 








































324 


POMPEII. 


protliyrum, the atrium, with its impluvium, the Ionic peris¬ 
tyle, and the garden wall, with Vesuvius in the distance. 
The entrance is decorated with two pilasters of the Corinthian 
order. Besides the outer door, there was another at the end 
of the prothyrum, to secure the atrium against too early in¬ 
trusion. The latter apartment was paved with marble, with 
a gentle inclination towards the impluvium. Through the 
tablinum the peristyle is seen, with two of its Ionic capitals 
still remaining. The columns are sixteen in number, fluted, 
except for about one-third of their height from the bottom. 
They are made of a volcanic stone, and, with their capitals, 
are of good executipn. But at some period subsequent to 
the erection of the house, probably after the earthquake, 
A. D. 63, they have been covered with hard stucco, and large 
leaves of the same material set under the volutes, so as to 
transform them into a sort of pseudo-Corinthian, or Com¬ 
posite order. It is not impossible that the exclusively 
Italian order, which we call Composite, may have originated 
in a similar caprice. Of the disposition of the garden, 
which occupied the open part of the peristyle, we have little 
to say. Probably it was planted with choice flowers. Slabs 
of marble were placed at the angles to receive the drippings 
of the roof, which were conducted by metal conduits into the 
central basin, which is about six feet in depth, and was 
painted green. In the centre of it there stood a jet d’eau, 
as there are indications enough to prove.^ This apartment, 
if such it may be called, was unusually spacious, measuring 
about sixty-five feet by fifty. The height of the columns 
was equal to the width of the colonnade, about sixteen feet. 
Their unfluted part is painted yellow, the rest is coated with 
white stucco. The floor is elevated two steps above the 
level of the tablinum. 

A curious religious painting, now almost effaced, was 
found in the kitchen, representing the worship offered to the 
Lares, under whose protection and custody the provisions 
and all the cooking utensils were placed. In the centre is 
a sacrifice in honour of those deities, who are represented 
below' in the usual form of two huge serpents brooding over 
an altar. There is something remarkable in the upper 


* Donaldson. 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


325 


figures, of wliicli Mazois, from whom our engraving is copied, 
has given no explanation. The female figure in the centre 
holds a cornucopia, and each of the male figures holds a 
small vase in the hand nearer to the altar, and a horn in 
the other. All the faces in his engraving are quite black, 
and the heads of the male figures are surrounded with some¬ 
thing resembling a glory. Their dress in general, and 
especially their boots, which are just like the Hungarian 



boots now worn on the stage, appear different from anything 
which is to be met with elsewhere. Are these figures meant for 
the Lares themselves ? On each side are represented different 
sorts of eatables. On the left a bunch of small birds, a string 
of fish, a boar with a girth about his body, and a magnifi¬ 
cently curling tail, and a few loaves, or rather cakes, of the 
precise pattern of some which have been found in Pompeii : 
on the right, an eel spitted on a wire, a ham, a boar’s head, 
and a joint of meat, which, as pig-meat seems to have been 
in request here, we may conjecture to be a loin of pork; at 
least it is as like that as anything else. It is suspended by 
a reed, as is still done at Rome. The execution of -this 
painting is coarse and careless in the extreme, yet there is 
a spirit and freedom of touch which has hit off the character 
of the objects represented, and forbids us to impute the 























326 


POMPEII. 


negligence which is displayed to incapacity. Another 
object of interest in the kitchen is a stove for stews and 
similar preparations, very much like those charcoal stoves 
which are seen in extensive kitchens at the present day. 
Before it lie a knife, a strainer, and a strange-looking sort 



of a frying-pan, with four spherical cavities, as if it were 
meant to cook eggs. A similar one, containing twenty-nine 
egg-holes, has been found, which is circular, about fifteen 
inches in diameter, and without a handle. Another article 
of kitchen furniture is a sort of fiat ladle pierced with holes. 



A flat Ladle called Trua. 


said to belong to the class called trua. It was meant appa¬ 
rently to stir up vegetables, &c., while boiling, and to strain 
the water from them. 

This house has been long excavated, and perhaps that is 
the reason that, considering its extent and splendour, the 
notices of it are particularly meagre. Of the decorations we 
have been able to procure no detailed accounts, though 
several paintings are said to have been found in it, and 
among them, one of Daniie amid the golden shower, deserving 
of notice. Of the garden little can be said, for little is 
known. According to the best indications which Mazois 











Atrium of the House of Pansa, 

































































































































































































































































































































































328 


POMPEII. 


could observe, it consisted of a number of straight parallel 
beds, divided by narrow paths, which gave access to them 
for horticultural purposes, but with no walk for air and 
exercise except the portico which adjoins the house. 

To give a better notion of the appearance and splendour 
of a Koman house Ave conclude our account Avith a view of 
the interior, as it has been restored by the taste and learning 
of Mr. Gandy Dering in the first volume of ‘ Pompeiana,’ by 
Avhose permission a copy of the plate is here inserted. The 
view is taken from the atrium, looking through the tablinum 
and peristyle to the garden. The decorations are taken 
from indications still existing which point out what had 
formerly been here, or from specimens preserved in other 
2 )arts of Pompeii. The figures of the Muses are taken from 
paintings found on the Avails of a house; the candelabra, 
tripods, &c., from articles preserved in the Neapolitan 
Museum. The doors on each side of the atrium gave access 
to the apartments marked 7. Beyond them on each side are 
the alae, and in the centre the tablinum, all closed or capable 
of being closed by parapetasmata, or curtains, for the use of 
doors for these large openings does not appear to have been 
general. 

Inferior to the House of Pansa, and to some others in size, 
but second to none in elegance of decoration and in the interest 
Avhich it excites, is a house in the street leading from the 
Gate of Herculaneum to the Forum, called by some the House 
of Actseon, from a painting found in it ; by others the House 
of Caius Sallustius. It occupies the southernmost portion 
of an insula extending backwards to the city Avails. It is 
remarkable that the architects of Pompeii seem to have been 
careless for the most part Avhether they built on a regular or 
an irregular area. The practice of surrounding the owner’s 
abode with shops, enabled them to turn to advantage the 
sides and corners of any piece of ground, hoAvever misshapen. 
Thus in the plan before us the apartments of the dwelling- 
house are almost all Avell shaped and rectangular, though not 
one of the four angles of the area is a right angle. 

1. Prothyrum. 2. Large hall, serving as a vestibule, as is 
pretty obvious from its arrangement. In the comparatively 
humble edifices of Pompeii, the reader will not of course 
expect to find that splendid provision for ‘ the convenient 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


329 


reception of a crowd of importunate suitors which we have 
described in speaking of the palaces of Eome; still it is 
interesting to trace the same disposition of apartments on a 
smaller scale, especially as this throws some light upon the 
contested question of the Greek or Eoman origin of the 
private houses. There are four doors. One opens to the 
prothyriim, another to the street—a large opening, closed, 
according to Mazois, with quadrivalve doors, or doors folding 
back upon themselves, like window-shutters. Of the other 
two, both communicate with the atrium, one directly, the 



Ground-plan of the House of Sallust. 

other through an intermediate room, 16, probably the cella 
ostiarii, the porter’s closet, so that at night, when the doors 
of the atrium were closed, no one could enter without his 
knowledge. 3. Shop communicating with the house lor the 
sale of the produce of the proprietor s estates. Jars, like 
those before described, are seen set in the counter, probab y 
to receive his oil or olives. 4. Shop. 5. Shop called a ther- 
mopolium, with two roems backwards. Between 4 and 5, m 





















POMPEII. 


330 

tlie party-wall, is tlie opening of a cistern, common to both. 
6. Bakehouse. There were rooms over it, as is proved by a 
staircase. The four first steps, steep and inconvenient, were 
of stone, and consequently still remain. The sites of three 
mills, a, a, a, are laid down. 7. Oven. 8, 9. Booms belong¬ 
ing to the bakehouse. 10. Tuscan atrium. 11. Marble 
impluvium. 12. Antechamber of a large oecus, or hall, 13, 
which perhaps was the winter triclinium. This conjecture 
is founded partly on its neighbourhood to the oven, which 
would keep it warm and dry, and in a comfortable state for 
ivinter use, partly from its size and shape. The length is 
about twenty-four feet, the breadth twelve, which exactly 
agrees with the directions of Vitruvius, that the length of 
a triclinium should be double its breadth. A further reason 
for thus appropriating it may be found in its central situation, 
which is such that it must have been very ill lighted, if 
lighted at all. It was probably therefore intended chiefly 
for evening use. 14, 15. Booms probably for the reception of 
strangers, which, where there was no hospitium, generally 
were placed round the atrium. The walls of 15 are pre¬ 
served up to the cornice, and are elegantly stuccoed and 
painted. 17. Alae. That on the right opens into a cabinet, 
probably that of the atriensis. To correspond with the door¬ 
way, there was in the other ala a false doorway, which served 
as a lararium, as the paintings which were found in it prove. 
18. Open room and staircase leading to a winter apartment 
placed above the oven. 19. Tablinum, having at its back a 
low parapet wall. 20. Fauces. 21. Portico. 22. Summer 
triclinium. 23. Cabinet. 24. Garden or xystus. 25. Tri¬ 
clinium in the open air, covered by a trellis. 26. Kitchen. 
27. Back entrance. 28. Chamber. 29. Entrance to vene¬ 
reum. 30. Lodge for a slave wdiose duty was to keep the 
door and prevent intrusion. 31, 32. Portico and court of 
the venereum. 33, 34. Cabinets opening from the portico. 
35. Triclinium. 36. Open space containing a stove, and 
staircase to the terrace above the portico. 

Our general view of this house is taken from the street in 
front, and runs completely through to the garden w’all. One 
of the pilasters which flank the doorway has its capital still 
in good preservation. It is cut out of grey lava, and repre¬ 
sents a Silenus and Faun side by side, each holding one end 



View of the Entrance to the House of Sallust, in 1830, 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































332 


POMPEII. 


of au empty leatlier bottle, thrown over their shoulders. 
Ornaments of this character, which can be comprehended 
under none of the orders of architecture, are common in 
Pompeii, and far from unpleasing in their effect, however 
contrary to established principles. On the right is the large 
opening into the vestibule. In the centre of the view is the 
atrium, easily recognized by the impluvium, and beyond it 
through the tablinum are seen the pillars of the portico. 
.Beyond the impluvium is the place of a small altar for the 
worship of the Lares. A bronze hind, through the mouth of 
which a stream of water flowed, formerly stood in the centre 
of the basin. It bore a figure of Hercules upon its back. 
The walls of the atrium and tablinum are curiously stuccoed 
in large raised panels, with deep channels between them, the 
panels being painted of different colours, strongly contrasted 
with each other. We find among them different shades of 
the same colour, several reds for instance, as sinopis, cin¬ 
nabar, and others. This sort of decoration has caused some 
persons to call this the house of a colour-seller—a conjecture 
entirely at variance with the luxury and elegance which 
reign in it. The floor was of red cement, with bits of white 
marble imbedded in it. 

The altar in the atrium and the little oratory in the left- 
hand ala belong to the worship of the Lares clomestici or 
familiares, as is indicated by the paintings found in the 
false doorway, but now removed. They consisted of a ser¬ 
pent below and a group of four figures above, employed in cele¬ 
brating a sacrifice to these gods. In the centre is a tripod, 
into which a priest, his head covered, is pouring the contents 
of a patera. On each side are two young men, dressed alike, 
apparently in the praetexta ; at least their robes are white, 
and there is a double red stripe down the front of their 
tunics, and a red drapery is thrown over the shoulders of 
each. In one hand each holds a patera; in the other each 
holds aloft a cow’s horn perforated at the small end, through 
which a stream is spouting into the patera at a considerable 
distance. This, though an inconvenient, seems to have been 
a common drinking-vessel. The method of using it has 
already been described. In the background is a man play¬ 
ing on the double flute. 

The worship of the Lares was thus publicly represented, 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


333 


and tlieir images were exposed to view, that all persons 
might have an opportunity of saluting them and invoking 
prosperity on the house. Noble families had also a place ot 
domestic worship (^adytum or jpenetrale) in the most retired 
part of their mansions, where their most valuable records 
and hereditary memorials were preserved. The worship of 
these little deities {DU minuti, or patellarii)* was universally 
popular, partly perhaps on account of its economical nature,! 
for they seem to have been satisfied with anything that came 
to hand, partly perhaps from a sort of feeling of good fellow¬ 
ship in them and towards them, like that connected with the 
Brownies and Cluricaunes, and other household goblins of 
northern extraction. Like those goblins they were repre¬ 
sented sometimes under very grotesque forms. There is a 
bronze figure of one found at Herculaneum, and figui’ed in 
the Antiquites d’Herculanum, plate xvii. vol. viii., which 
represents a little old man sitting on the ground with his 
knees up to his chin, a huge head, ass's ears, a long beard, 
and a roguish face, which would not agree ill with our notion 
of a Brownie. Their statues were often placed behind the 
door, as having power to keep out all things hurtful, espe¬ 
cially evil genii. Eespected as they were, they sometimes 
met with rough treatment, and were kicked or cutfed, or 
thrown out of window without ceremony, if any unlucky 
accident had chanced through their neglect. Sometimes 
they were imaged under the form of dogs, the emblems of 
fidelity and watchfulness, sometimes, like their brethren of 
the highways (Lares compitales), in the shape of serpents. 
The tutelary genii of men or places, a class of beings closely 
allied to Lares, were supposed to manifest themselves in the 
same shape: as, for example, a sacred serpent was believed 
at Athens to keep watch in the temple of Athene in the 
Acropolis. Hence paintings of these animals became in 
some sort the guardians of the spot in which they were set 
up, like images of saints- in Eoman Catholic countries, and 

* Dii patellarii, idem ac Lares; sic vocati, quia non a potu modo in focum, 
qui Larium sedes, aliquid iis veteres defundereut, sed ex cibis quoque in patella 
aliquid ad focum deterrent.—Schol. in Pers. iii. 26. 

Oportet bonum civem legibus parere et decs colere, in patella dare 
Kpeas, i.e. parum carnis.—Varr. apud Non. 15, 6, tacciolati. 

0 parvi, nostrique Lares, quos thure minuto 

Aut farre, et tenui soleo exorare corona.—Juv. ix. 137. 


POMPEII. 


334 


not imfreqnently were employed when it was wished to 
secure anyplace from irreverent treatment.* From these 
associations the presence of serpents came to be considered 
of good omen, and by a natural consequence they were kept 
(a harmless sort of course) in the houses, where they nestled 
about the altars, and came out like dogs or cats to be patted 
by the visitors, and beg for something to eat-t Nay, at table, 
if we may build upon insulated passages, they crept about the 
cups of the guests ; and in hot weather ladies would use them 
as live boas, and twist them round their necks for the sake of 
coolness-t Martial, however, our authority for this, seems 
to consider it as an odd taste.§ Virgil, therefore, in a fine 
passage, in which he has availed himself of the divine nature 
attributed to serpents, is only describing a scene which he 
may often have witnessed : — 

Scarce had he finished, when with speckled pride, 

A serpent from the tomb began to glide ; 

His hugy bulk on seven high volumes rolled ; 

Blue was his breadth of ba'ck, but streaked with scaly gold : 

Thus, riding on his curls, he seemed to pass 
A rolling fire along, and singe the grass. 

More various colours through his body run, 

Than Iris, when her bow imbibes the sun. 

Betwixt the rising altars, and around, 

The rolling monster shot along the ground. 

With harmless play amidst the bowls he passed, 

And with his lolling tongue assayed the taste : 

Thus fed with holy food,"^ the wondrous guest 
Within the hollow tomb retired to rest. 

The pious prince, sui'prised at what he viewed. 

The funeral honours with more zeal renewed ; 

Doubtful if this the place’s genius were. 

Or guardian of his father’s sepulchre.lj 

We may conjecture from the paintings, which bear a 
marked resemblance to one another, that these snakes were of 
considerable size, and of the same species, probably that 


* Pinge duos angues: pueri, sacer est locus—extra 
Meiite.—Pers. i. 113. 

t Erat ei (Tiberioj in oblectamentis serpens draco, quern e consuetudine 
manu sua cibaturus, cum consumptum a formicis invenisset, monitus est ut 
vim multitudinis timeret.—Suet. Tib. x. 72. 

+ Repentes inter pocula sinusque innoxio lapsu dracones. —Seneca de Ira. ii. 
31. 

§ Si gelidum nectit collo Glacilla draconem.—Mart. vii. 87. 

{j Dryden.—.(En. v. 84, ^o. 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 


335 


called iEsculapiiis, which was brought from Epidaurus to 
Rome with the worship of the god, and, as we are told by 
Pliny, was commonly fed in the houses of Rome. These 
saered animals made war on the rats and mice, and thus kept 
down one species of vermin ; but as they bore a charmed life, 
and no one laid violent hands on them, they multiplied so 
fast, that, like the monkeys of Benares, they became an in¬ 
tolerable nuisance. The frequent fires at Rome were the only 
things that kept them under. * 

Passing through the tablinum, we enter the portico of the 
xystus, or garden, a spot small in extent, but full of ornament 
and of beauty, though not that sort of beauty which the 
notion of a garden suggests to us. It is not larger than a 
London garden, the object of our continual ridicule; yet 
while the latter is ornamented only with one or two scraggy 
poplars, and a few gooseberry-bushes with many more thorns 
than leaves, the former is elegantly decorated by the hand of 
art, and set apart as the favourite retreat of festive pleasure. 
True it is that the climate of Italy suits out-of-door amuse¬ 
ments better than our own, and that Pompeii was not exposed 
to that plague of soot which soon turns marble goddesses 
into chimney-sweepers. The portico is composed of columns, 
fluted and corded, the lower portion of them painted blue, 
without pedestals, yet approaching to the Roman rather than 
to the Grecian Doric. The entablature is gone. From the 
portico we ascend by three steps to the xystus. Its small 
extent, not exceeding in its greatest dimensions seventy 
feet by twenty, did not permit trees, hardly even shrubs, to 
be planted iii it. The centre, therefore, was occupied by a 
pavement, and on each side boxes filled with earth were 
ranged for flowers; while, to make amends for the want of 
real verdure, the whole wall opposite the portico is painted 
with trellises and fountains, and birds drinking from them ; 
and above, with thickets enriched and ornamented wit 
numerous tribes of their winged inhabitants. 

The most interesting discoveries at Pompeii are those 
which throw light on, or confirm passages of ancient authors. 

* Anguis .Esculapius Epidauro Komam advectus est, vulgoq. pascitui et in 
domil us, Ac nisi incendiis semina exurerentur, non esset lijeciinditati eorum 
resistere.—Plin. Hist. Nat. xxix. 22. rpliny seems to allude to fives pur- 
pusoly kindled to destroy their eggs.] \ 


POMPEII. 


336 

Exactly tlie same style of ornament is described by Pliny tbe 
Younger as existing in his Tuscan villa. “ Another cubiculum 
is adorned with sculptm'cd marble for the height of the 
podium ; above which is a painting of trees, and birds sitting 
on them, not inferior in elegance to the marble itself. Under 
it is a small fountain, and in the fountain a cup, round which 
the playing of several small water-pipes makes a most agree¬ 
able murmur.”* At the end of this branch of the garden, 
which is shaped like an L, we see an interesting^ monument 
of the customs of private life. It is a summer triclinium, in 



Summer Triclinium in the small Garden of the House of Sallust. 


plan like that which has been mentioned in the preceding 
chapter, but much more elegantly decorated. The couches 
are of masonry, intended to be covered with mattresses and 
rich tapestry when the feast was to be held here : the round 
table in the centre was of marble. Above it was a trellis, as 
is shown by the sijuare pillars in front and the holes in the 

* Plin. Ep. lib. v. 6. 





































HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. 337 

walls wliich enclose two sides of the triclinium. These walls 
are elegantly painted in panels, in the prevailing taste; but 
above the panelling there is a whimsical frieze, appropriate to 
the purpose of this little pavilion, consisting of all sorts of 
eatables which can be introduced at a feast. When Mazois 
first saw it the colours were fresh and beautiful; but when 
he wrote, after a lapse of ten years, it was already in decay, 
and ere now it has probably disappeared, so perishable are 
all those beauties which cannot be protected from the in¬ 
clemency of the weather by removal. In front a stream of 
water pours into a basin from the w^all, on which, half j)ainted, 
half raised in relief, is a mimic fountain surmounted by a 
stag. Between the fountain and triclinium, in a line between 
the two pilasters which supported the trellis, was a small 
altar, on which the due libations might be poured by the 
festive party. In the other limb of the garden is a small 
furnace, probably intended to keep water constantly hot for 
the use of those who preferred warm potations. Usually the 
Romans drank their wine mixed with snow, and clarified 
through a strainer, of which there are many in the Museum 
of Naples, curiously pierced in intricate patterns; but those 
who were under medical care were not always suffered to 
enjoy this luxury. Martial laments his being condemned by 
his physician to drink no cold wine, and concludes with 
wishing that his enviers may have nothing but warm water.^ 
At the other end of the garden, opposite the front of the 
triclinium, was a cistern which collected the rain waters, 
whence they were drawn for the use of the garden and of the 
house. There was also a cistern at the end of the portico 
. next the triclinium. 

The several rooms to the left of the atrium offer nothing 
remarkable. On the right, however, as will be evident upon 
inspecting the plan, a suite of apartments existed, carefully 
detached from the remainder of the house, and communicat¬ 
ing only with the atrium by a single passage. The disposi¬ 
tion and the ornaments of this portion of the house prove that 
it was a private venereum^’\ a place, if not consecrated to the 

* vi. 86. 

+ The author here considers that al! this left siile of the house was devoted 
to veneieal orgies. But, as Overbeek lemarks (B. i. S. 280), these apartments 
sefiiu only to be destined tor the pi'ivate use of the family, which, from the 

Z 


POMPEII. 


338 

goddess from whom it derives its name, at least especially 
devoted to her service. The strictest privacy has been studied 
in its ,arrangements ; no building overlooks it; the only en¬ 
trance is closed by two doors, botli of which, we may conjec¬ 
ture, were never suffered to be open at once; and beside them 
was the apartment of a slave, whose duty was to act as porter 
and prevent intrusion. Passing the second door, the visitor 
found himself under a portico supported by octagonal columns, 
with a court or open area in the centre, and in the middle of 
it a small basin. At each end of the portico is a small 
cabinet, with appropriate paintings: in one of them a j^ainting 
of Venus, Mars, and Cupid is conspicuous. The apartments 
were paved with marble, and the walls lined breast-high with 
the same material. A niche in the cabinet nearest the tricli¬ 
nium contained a small image, a gold vase, a gold coin, and 
twelve bronze medals of the reign of Vespasian; and near 
this spot were found eight small bronze columns, w'hich ap- 
23 ear to have formed part of a bed. In the adjoining lane 
four skeletons were found, apparently a female attended by 
three slaves; the tenant perhaps of this elegant apartment. 
Beside her was a round plate of silver, which probably was a 
mirror, together with several golden rings set with engraved 
stones, two earrings, and five bracelets of the same metal. 
Both cabinets had glazed windows,* which commanded a 
view of the court and of each other: it is conjectured that 
they were provided with curtains. The court itself presents 
no trace of pavement, and therefore probably served as a 
garden. The opposite page contains a view of the interior. 


nature of the area on which the house was built, as shown by the ground plan, 
could not be constructed in their usual situation round the peristyle, which is 
here altogether wanting. The argument from the pictures he justly regards 
as futile, since these are not a whit more indecent than many which may be 
seen in parts of Pompeian houses that certainly were not Veneria. We 
cannot however agree with Overbeck in altogether banishing Veneria from 
Pompeii, to whatever purpose such apartments may have been applied, since 
they are mentioned in the advei'tisement ot Julia felix already mentioned. (In 
p jedis Julias Felicis locantur Balneum, Venerium, et Kongentum Tabernoe.— 
Pomp. Ant. Hist. t. i. fasc. ii. p. 95.) But as the same advertisement, ac¬ 
cording to the generally received interpretation, forbids any biothel-keeper to 
apply, it seems fair to presume that they were not used for profligate 
pm poses.—E d, 

Mazois, part ii. p. 77. 



•• 


HOUSES OF 


PANSA AND SALLUST. 




V’cncrcnm of the House of Sallust 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































340 


POMPEII. 


as restored by Mazois. The ground of the walls is black, a 
colour well calculated to set off doubtful complexions to the 
best advantage, while its sombre aspect is redeemed by a pro¬ 
fusion of gold-coloured ornament, in the most elegant taste. 
The columns were painted with the colour called sinopis 
Ponticum, a species of red ochre of brilliant tint. Nearly all 
the wall of the court between the cabinets is occupied by a 
large painting of Actaeon, from which the house derives one 
of its names ; on either side it is flanked by the representa¬ 
tion of a statue on a high pedestal. The centre piece com¬ 
prises a double action. In one part we see a rocky grotto, 
in which Diana was bathing when the unwary hunter made 
his appearance above: in the other he is torn by his own 
dogs, a severe punishment for an unintentional intrusion. 
The background represents a wild and mountainous land¬ 
scape. A painted frieze, and other paintings on the walls, 
complete the decorations of the portico. 

The large apartment, 35, was a triclinium for the use of 
this portion of the house, where the place of the table, and of 
the beds which surrounded it on three sides, was marked by 
a mosaic pavement. Over the left-hand portico there was a 
terrace. The space marked 36 contained the stair w^hich 
gave access to it, a stove connected probably with the service 
of the triclinium and other conveniences. 

This house also has been restored by Mr. Dering, by 
whose permission the accompanying plate has been inserted.* 
In the centre of the view is seen the opening into the tabli- 
nuni, which probably was only separated from the atrium by 
curtains {parapetasmata), which might be drawn or undrawn 
at pleasure. Through the tablinum the pillars of the peri¬ 
style and the fountain painted on the garden wall are seen. 
To the right of the tablinum is the faucos, and on each side 
of the atrium the alee are seen, partly shut off, like the tabli¬ 
num, by handsome draperies. The nearer doors belong to 
chambers which open into the atrium. Above the coloured 
courses of stucco blocks the walls are painted in the light, 
almost Chinese style of architecture, which is so common, and 
a row of scenic masks fills the place of a cornice. The 

* The view, however, hardly conveys an adequate idea of tlie atrium, being 
taken from a point too near the impluvium. There aie three doors on each 
side, while in the Anew only one is shown, besides the ala.—E d. 


HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST, 


341 



Atrium of the House of Sallust. 

















































































































































































































































342 


POMPEII. 


ceiling is riclily fretted. The compluvium also was orna¬ 
mented with a row of triangular tiles called antehxes, on 
which a mask or some other object was moulded in relief. 
Below, lions’ heads are placed along the cornice at intervals, 
forming spouts through which the water was discharged into 
the impluvium beneath. Part of this cornice, found in the 
house of which we speak, is well deserving our notice, because 
it contains, within itself, specimens of three, different epochs 
of art, at which we must suppose the house was first built, 
and subsequently repaired. It is made of a fine clay, with a 



Part of the cornice of the Impluvium of the Atrium of the House of Sallust. 

lion’s head moulded upon it, well designed, and carefully 
finished. It is plain, therefore, that it was not meant to be 
stuccoed, or the labour bestowed in its execution would have 
been in great part wasted. At a later period it has been 
coated over with the finest stucco, and additional enrichments 
and mouldings have been introduced, yet without injury to 
the design or inferiority in the workmanship ; indicating 
that at the time of its execution the original simplicity of art 
had given way to a more enriched and elaborate style of 
ornament, yet without any perceptible decay, either in the 
taste of the designer or the skill of the workman. Still later 






HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLUST. ' 6^3 

this elegant stucco cornice had been covered with a third 
coating of the coarsest materials, and of design and execution 
most barbarous, when it is considered how line a model the 
artists had before their eyes. In the annexed section the 
three periods are distinguished by different shades. The 
original comice is the darker, marked A; the second coating 
is left white; the third and last is faintly shaded. This was 
painted, which neither of the two earlier cornices appear to 
have been. In the restoration, the impluvium is surrounded 
with a mosaic border. This has disappeared, if ever there 
was one ; but mosaics are frequently found in this situation, 
and it is therefore at all events an allowable liberty to 
place one here, in a house so distinguished for the richness 
and elegance of its decorations. Beside the impluvium stood 
a machine, now in the National Museum, for heating water, 
and at the same time warming the room if requisite. The 
high circular part, with the lid open, is a reservoir, commu¬ 
nicating with the semicircular piece, which is hollow, and 
had a spout to discharge the heated water. The three eagles 
placed on it are meant to support a kettle. The charcoal 
was contained in the square base. 



Painting representing the manner of hanging a Picture against the waU. 















344 


POMPEH. 



CHAPTEE Y. 

THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA. 

In the preceding chapters we have taken indiscriminately, 
from all quarters of the town, houses of all classes, from the 
smallest to the most splendid, in the belief that such would 
be the best way of showing the gradations of wealth and 
comfort, the different styles of dwelling adopted by different 
classes of citizens, in proportion to their means. It would 
however be manifestly impossible so to classify all the 
houses which contain something worthy of description; and 
we shall therefore adopt a topographical arrangement as the 
simplest one, commencing at the Gate of Herculaneum, and 
proceeding in as regular order as circumstances will permit 
through the excavated part of the town, concluding at the 
quarter of the Theatres, beyond which there is nothing exca¬ 
vated except the amphitheatre. 

Most of the houses immediately about the gate appear to 
have been small inns or eating-houses, probably used chiefly 
by country people, who came in to market, or by the lower 
order of travellers. Immediately to the right of it, however, 
at the beginning of the street called the Via Consularis, or 
Domitiana, there is a dwelling of a better class, called the 
House of the Musician,* from paintings of musical instru¬ 
ments which ornamented the walls. Among these were the 
sistrum, trumpet, double flute, and others. Upon the right 

♦ Now known os the shop or inn of Albino. 








THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA. 345 

side of the street, however, the buildings soon improve, and 
in that quarter are situated some of the most remarkable 
mansions, in respect of extent and construction, which 
Pompeii affords. They stand in part upon the site of the 
walls which have been demolished upon this, the side next 
the port, for what purpose it is not very easy to say : not to 
make room for the growth of the city, for these houses stand 
at the very limit of the available ground, being partly built 
upon a steep rock. Hence, besides, the upper floors, which 
have perished, they consist each of two or three stories, one 
below another, so that the apartments next the street are 
always on the highest level. Those who are familiar with the 
metropolis of Scotland will readily call to mind a similar 
mode of construction very observable on the north side of the 
High Street, where the ground-floor is sometimes situated 
about the middle of the house. 

One of the most remarkable of these houses contains three 
stories; the first, level with the street, contains the public 
part of the house, the vestibule, atrium, and tablinum, which 
opens upon a spacious terrace. Beside these is the peristyle 
and other private apartments, at the back of which the terrace 
of which we have just spoken offers an agreeable walk for the 
whole breadth of the house, and forms the roof of a spacious 
set of apartments at a lower level, which are accessible either 
by a sloping passage from the street, running under the 
atrium, or by a staircase communicating with the peristyle. 
This floor contains baths, a triclinium, a spacious saloon, and 
other rooms necessary for the private use of a family. Be¬ 
hind these rooms is another terrace, which overlooks a 
spacious court surrounded by porticoes, and containing a 
piscina or reservoir in the centre. The pillars on the side 
next the house are somewhat higher than on the other tliree 
sides, so as to give the terrace there a greater elevation. 
Below this second story there is yet a third, in part under 
ground, which contains another set of baths, and, besides 
apartments for other purposes, the lodging of the slaves. 
This was divided into little cells, scarcely the length of a 
man, dark and damp ; and we cannot enter it without a lively 
feeling of the wretched state to which these beings were 
reduced. 

A few steps further, pu the same side, is another house 


POMPEII. 


346 

somewhat of the same description, which evidently belonged 
to some man of importance, probably to Julius Polybius, 
whose name has been found in several inscriptious. Frag¬ 
ments of richly-gilt stucco-work enable us to estimate the 
richness of its decoration and the probable wealth of its 
owner. It will be readily distinguished by its immense 
Corinthian atrium, or rather peristyle. It has the further 
peculiarity of having two vestibules, each communicating 
with the street and with the atrium. The portico of the 
atrium is formed by arcades and piers, ornamented with 
attached columns, the centre being occupied by a coui-t and 
fountain. These arcades appear to have been enclosed by 
windows. Square holes, worked in the marble coping of a 
dwarf wall which surrounds the little court, were perfectly 
distinguishable,* and it is concluded that they were meant to 
receive the window-frames. Pliny the Younger describes a 
similar glazed portico at his Laurentine villa ; and an antique 
painting, representing the baths of Faustina, gives the view 
of a portico, the apertures of which are entirely glazed, as 
w'e suppose them to have been here. The portico, and three 
apartments which communicate with it, were paved in mosaic. 
Attached to one of the corner piers there is a foimtain. The 
kitchen and other apartments were below this floor. There 
was also an upper story, as is clear from the remains of stair¬ 
cases. This house extends to the point at which a by-street 
turns away from the main road to the Forum. We will now 
return to the gate, to describe the triangular island of houses 
w'hich bounds the main street on the eastern side. 

That close to the gate, called the House of the Triclinium, 
derives its name from a large triclinium in the centre of the 
peristyle, which is spacious and handsome, and bounded by 
the city walls. The House of the Vestals is a little further 
on. What claim it has to this title, except by the rule 
of contraries, we are at a loss to guess ; seeing that the style 
of its decorations is very far from corresponding with that 
purity of thought and manners which we are accustomed to 
associate with the title of vestal. The paintings are nu¬ 
merous and beautiful, and the mosaics remarkably flne. Upon 
the threshold here, as in several other houses, we find the 


Mazois, part ii. p. 52. 


THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA. 


347 


word “ Salve ” (Welcome), worked in mosaic. We enter by a 
vestibule, divided into three compartments, and ornamented 
with four attached columns, which introduces us to an atrium, 
fitted up in the usual manner, and surrounded by the usual 
apartments. The most remarkable of these is a triclinium, 
which formerly was richly paved with glass mosaics. Hence 
we pass into the private apartments, which are thus described 
by Bonucci:—“ This house seems to have been originally 
two separate houses, afterwards, probably, bought by some 
rich man, and thrown into one. After traversing a little 
court, around which are the sleeping chambers, and that 
destined to business, we hastened to render our visit to the 
Penates. We entered the pantry, and rendered back to the 
proprietors the greeting that, from the threshold of this man¬ 
sion, they still direct to strangers. We next passed through 
the kitchen and its dependencies. The corn-mills seemed 
waiting for the accustomed hands to grind with them, after 
so many years of repose. Oil standing in glass vessels, 
chesnuts, dates, raisins, and figs, in the next chamber, an¬ 
nounce the provision for the approaching winter, and large 
amphorae of wine recall to us the consulates of Caesar and of 
Cicero. 

“ We entered the private apartment. Magnificent porticoes 
are to be seen around it. Numerous beautiful columns 
covered with stucco, and with very fresh colours, surrounded 
a very agreeable garden, a pond, and a bath. Elegant 
paintings, delicate ornaments, stags, sphinxes, wild and 
fanciful flowers everywhere cover the walls. The cabinets 
of young girls, and their toilets, with appropriate paintings, 
are disposed along the sides. In this last were found a great 
quantity of female ornaments, and the skeleton of a little 
dog. At the extremity is seen a semicircular room adorned 
with niches, and formerly with statues, mosaics, and marbles. 
An altar, on which the sacred fire burned perpetually, rose 
in the centre. This is the sacrarium. In this secret and 
sacred place the most solemn and memorable days of the 
family were spent in rejoicing; and here, on birthdays, 
sacrifices were offered to Juno, or the Genius, the protector 
of the new-born child.”* 

* Not having been able to procure Bonucci’s work, we quote from the notes 
to a little American story, entitled “ The Vestal, a tale of Pompeii.” 


348 


POMPEII. 


The next house is called the House of a Surgeon, hccauso 
a variety of surgical instruments were found in it. In num¬ 
ber they amounted to forty: some resembled instruments 
still in use, others are different from anything employed by 
modern surgeons. In many the description of Celsus is 
realised, as, for instance, in the sjDecillum, or j)robe, which is 
concave on one side and flat on the other; the scalper ex- 
cisorius, in the shape of a lancet-i)oint on one side and of a 
mallet on the other ; a hook and forcejjs, used in obstetrical 
practice. The latter are said to equal in the convenience 
and ingenuity of their construction the best eiforts of modem 
cutlers. Needles, cutting compasses (circini excisorii), and 
other instruments were found, all of the purest brass with 
bronze handles, and usually enclosed in brass or boxwood 
cases. There is nothing remarkable in the house itself, 
which contains the usual apartments, atrium, peristyle, &c., 
except the paintings. These consist chiefly of architectural 
designs, combinations of golden and bronze-coloured columns 
placed in perspective, surmounted by rich architraves, elabo¬ 
rate friezes, and decorated cornices, one order above another. 
Intermixed are arabesque ornaments, grotesque paintings, 
and compartments with figures, all apparently employed in 
domestic occupations. Three of these we have selected for 
insertion. One of them represents a female figure carrying 



rolls of papyrus to a man who is seated and intently reading. 
The method of reading these rolls or volumes, which were 
written in transverse columns across the breadth of the 






THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA. 


349 


papyrus, is clearly shown here. Behind him a young woman 
is seated, playing on the harp. All these figures are placed 
under the light architectural designs above described, which 
seem intended to surmount a terrace.* It is a common prac¬ 
tice at the present day in Italy, especially near Naples, to 



Figure reading a roll of Papyrus. 


Figure playing ou tLe Harp. 


construct light treillages on the tops of the houses, where the 
inhabitants enjoy the evening breeze, al fresco, in the same 
way as is represented in these paintings. The peristyle is 
small, but in good preservation. Its intercolumniations are 
filled up by a dwarf wall painted red, the lower part of 
the columns being painted blue. This house runs through 
the island from one street to the other. Adjoining it, on the 
south, is the custom-house, telonium. Here a wide entrance 
admits us into an ample chamber, where many scales were 
found, and among them a steelyard, statera, much resembling 
those now in use, but more richly and tastefully ornamented. 
A description of similar implements has been given in the 
first part, pp. 76, 77. Many weights of lead and marble 
were found here ; one with the inscription, “ Erne et habebis ” 
(Buy and you shall have).* Near the custom-house is a 

* There is no tmce of these weiglits and scnles in the journals of the exca¬ 
vations, though weiglits like those described have been found elsewhere. It 
should have been added that, behind the apartment described, is another quite 
as large, having its principal entrance from the little street or lane al the back, 
called Vicolo di Narcisso. This has all the appearance of a stable; and the 
disi;overy in it of the skeletons of two hoises, and some remains of a two- 








350 


POMPEII. 


soap manufactory. In the first room were heaps of lime,^th<9 
admirable quality of which has excited the wonder of modern 
plasterers. In an inner room are the soap-vats, placed on a 
level with the ground. The island is terminated by the 
fountain, of which there is a view in Part I. 

We now come to the House of Sallust, or Actaeon, which 
we have abeady described. Besides it, the island contains 
three houses which have been distinguished by names, the 
House of Isis and Osiris, the House of Narcissus, and the 
House of the Female Dancers. Of these the latter is remai-k- 
able for the beauty of the paintings which adorn its Tuscan 
atrium. Among them are four very elegant figures of female 
dancers, from which the name given to the house is taken. 
Another represents a figure reposing on the border of a clear 
lake, surrounded by villas and palaoes, on the bosom of which 
a flock of ducks and wild-fowl are swimming. The house of 
Narcissus is distinguished by the elegance of its peristyle ; 
the intercolumniations are filled up by a dwarf wall, which is 
hollowed at the top, probably to receive earth for the cultiva¬ 
tion of select flowers. Our materials do not admit of a fuller 
description of the houses in this quarter. 

Passing onwards from the House of Sallust, the next island 
to the south, separated from it by a narrow lane, affords 
nothing remarkable, except the shop of a baker, to the details 
of which, in conjunction with the art of dyeing, we purpose to 
devote a separate chapter. It is terminated in a sharp point 
by the fountain before mentioned. The disposition of the 
streets and houses everywhere is most unsymmetrical, but 
here it is remarkably so, even for Pompeii. Just by the 
house with the double vestibule the main street divides into 
two, inclined to each other at a very acute angle, which 
form, together with a third cross street of more importance, 
called the Strada delle Ternie, or Street of the Baths, 
. another small triangular island. The house at the apex 
was an apothecary’s shop. A great many drugs, glasses, 
and phials of the most singular forms, were found here : 
in some of the latter fluids were yet remaining. In par- 


wheeled cfirt, tends to confirm this view. Such an adjunct seems hardly to 
ai^ree with the idea that the front building was a custom-house. See Over¬ 
beck, B. i. S. 137 .—Hd. 



THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA. 


:35i 



Figure from the House of the Female Dancers. 









POMPEII. 


352 


ticular one large glass vase is to be mentioned, capable of 
bolding two gallons, in which was a gallon and a half of a 
reddish liquid, said to be balsam. On being opened, the 
contents began to evaporate very fast, and it was therefore 
closed hermetically. About an inch in depth of the contents 
has been thus lost, leaving on the sides of the vessel a 
sediment, reaching up to the level to which it was formerly 
filled. The right-hand street leads to buildings entirely in 
ruins, the left-hand one, which is a continuation of the Via 
Consularis, or Domitiana, conducts us towards the Forum. 

Immediately to the eastward of the district just described 
is the House of Pansa, which occupies a whole island. The 
island between it and the city walls, on the north, offers 
nothing remarkable. Beyond, still to the east, is an island 
separated from it by a narrow street, called the Via della 
Fullonica, and bounded on the other side by the Street of 
Mercury, which runs in a straight line from the walls nearly 
to the Forum. This island contains, besides several private 
houses of great beauty, the Fullonica, or establishment for 
the fulling and dyeing of woollen cloths. This, together with 
the bakehouse above-mentioned, will afford materials for a 
separate chapter. 



i;auciug Faun. 



353 



Antique Bas-relief In terra-cotta, representing a Mule attached to a MiU. 


CHAPTEE VI. 

ABT OF BAKING.—FULLONICA. 

The fame of an actor has been justly said to be of all fame 
the most perishable, because be leaves no memorial of bis 
powers, except in the fading memories of the generation 
which has beheld him. An analogous proposition might be 
made with respect to the mechanical arts: of all sorts of 
knowledge they are the most perishable, because the know¬ 
ledge of them cannot be transmitted by mere description. 
Let any great convulsion of nature put an end to their 
practice for a generation or two, and though the scientific 
part of them may be preserved in books, the skill in manipu¬ 
lation, acquired by a long series of improvements, is4ost. If 
Britain be destined to relapse into such a state of barbarism 
as Italy passed through in the period which divides ancient 
and modern history, its inhabitants a thousand years hence 
will know little more of the manual processes of printing, 
dyeing, and the other arts which minister to our daily com¬ 
fort, in spite of all the books which have been and shall be 






POMPEII. 


354 

written, man we Imow of the manual processes of ancient 
Italy. We reckon, therefore, among the most interesting 
discoveries of Pompeii, those which relate to the manner of 
conducting handicrafts, of which it is not too much to say 
that we know nothing except through this medium. It is to 
be regretted, that as far as our information goes, there are 
but two trades on which any light has yet been thrown, those, 
namely, of the baker and the dyer. We shall devote this 
chapter to collecting what is known upon these subjects. 

Several bakers’ shops have been found, all in a tolerable 
state of preservation. The mills, the oven, the kneading- 
troughs, the vessels for containing w^ater, flour, leaven, have 
all been discovered, and seem to leave nothing wanting to 
our knowledge; in some of the vessels the very flour re¬ 
mained, still capable of being identified, though reduced 
almost to a cinder. But in the centre some lumps of whitish 
matter resembling chalk remained, which, when wetted and 
placed on a red-hot iron, gave out the peculiar odour which 
flour thus treated emits. Even the very bread, in a perfect 
though carbonized form, has in some instances been found in 
the oven. One of these bakers’ shops was attached to the 
House of Sallust, another to the House of Pansa: probably 
they were worth a handsome rent. A third, which we select 
for description, for one will serve perfectly as a type of the 
whole, seems to have belonged to a man of higher class, a 
sort of capitalist; for instead of renting a mere dependency 
of another man’s house, he lived in a tolerably good house of 
his own, of which the bakery forms a part. It stands next 
to the House of Sallust, on the south side, being divided from 
it only by a narrow street. Its front is in the main street 
or Via Consularis, leading from the Gate of Herculaneum to 
the Forum. Entering by a small vestibule, the visitor finds 
himself in a tetrastyle atrium (a thing not common at 
Pompeii), of ample dimensions considering the character of 
the hou^, being about thirty-six feet by thirty. The pillars 
which supported the ceiling are square and solid, and their 
size, combined with indications observed in a fragment of the 
entablature, led Mazois to suppose that, instead of a roof, 
they had been surmounted by a terrace. The impluvium is 
marble. At the end of the atrium is what would be called a 
tablinum in the house of a man of family, through which we 


ART OF BAKING. 


355 


enter the bakehouse, which is at the back of the house, and 
opens into the smaller street, which, diverging from the main 
street at the fountain by Pansa’s house, runs up straight to 
the city walls. The atrium is surrounded by di&rent 
apartments, offering abundant accommodation, but such as we 
need not stop to describe. 

The workroom is about thirty-three feet long by twenty- 
six. The centre is occupied by four stone mills, exactly 
like those found in the other two shops, for all the bakers 
ground their own flour. To give more room they are placed 
diagonally, so as to form, not a square, but a lozenge. Mazois 
was present at the excavation of this house, and saw the 
mills at the moment of their discovery, when the iron-work, 
though entirely rust-eaten, was yet perfect enough to explain 
satisfactorily the method of construction. This will be besi 
understood from the following representation, one half ol 
which is an elevation, the other half a section. 

The base is a cylindrical stone, about five feet in diameter 
and two feet high. Upon this, forming part of the same 
block, or else firmly fixed into it, is a conical projection 
about two feet high, the sides slightly curving inwards. 
Upon this there rests another block, externally resembling a 
dice-box, internally an hour-glass, being shaped into two 
hollow cones with their vertices towards each other, the 
lower one fitting the conical surface on which it rests, though 
not with any degree of accuracy. To diminish friction, 
however, a strong iron pivot was inserted in the top of the 
solid cone, and a corresponding socket let into the narrow 
part of the hour-glass. Four holes were cut through the 
stone parallel to this pivot. The narrow part was hooped on 
the outside with iron, into which wooden bars were inserted, 
by means of which the upper stone was turned upon its pivot, 
by the labour of men or asses. The upper hollow cone 
served as a hopper, and was filled with corn, which fell by 
degrees through the four holes upon the solid cone, and was 
reduced to powder by friction between the two rough sm-faces. 
Of course it worked its way to the bottom by degrees, and 
fell out on the cylindrical base, round which a channel was 
cut to facilitate the collection. These machines are about 
six feet high in the whole, made of a rough grey volcanic 
stone, full of large crystals of leucite. Thus rude, in a 


POMPEII. 


356 

period of liigli refinement and luxury, was one of the com¬ 
monest and most necessary machines—thus careless were the 
Eomans of the amount of labour wasted in preparing an 
article of daily and universal consumption. This, probably, 
arose in chief from the employment of slaves, the hardness of 
whose task was little cared for; while the profit and en¬ 
couragement to enterprise on the part of the professional 



,Section of the Mill. 

baker was proportionately diminished, since every family of 
wealth probably prepared its bread at home. But the same 
inattention to the useful arts runs through everything that 
they did. Their skill in working metals was equal to ours ; 
nothing can be more beautiful than the execution of tripods, 
lamps, and vases, nothing coarser than their locks ; while at 
the same time the door-handles, bolts, &c., which were seen, 
are often exquisitely '^Tought. To what cause can this 






































ART OF BAKING. 


357 


sluggishness be referred ? In England we see that a material 
improvement in any article, though so trifling as a corkscrew 
or pencil-case, is pretty sure to make the fortune of some 
man, though unfortunately that man is very often not the 
inventor. Had the encouragement to 'industry been the 
same, the result would have been the same. Articles of 
luxury were in high request, and of them the supply was 
first-rate. But the demands of a luxurious nobility would 
never have repaid any man for. devoting his attention to the 
improvement of mills or perfecting smith’s work, and there 
was little general commerce to set ingenuity at work. Italy 
imported largely both agricultural produce and manufactures 
in the shape of tribute from a conquered world, and probably 
exported part of her peculiar productions; but we are not 
aware that there is any ground for supposing that she manu¬ 
factured goods for exportation to any extent. 

Originally mills were turned by hand,* and this severe 
labour seems, in all half-savage times, to have been conducted 
by women. It was so in Egypt; t it was so in Greece in the 
time of Homer, who employs fifty females in the house of 
Alcinous upon this service. It was so in Palestine in the 
time of the Evangelists, and in England in the fourteenth 
and sixteenth centuries. We find a passage of St. Matthew 
thus rendered by Wicliffe: “ Two wymmen schulen (shall) 
be grinding in one querne,” or hand-mill; and Harrison the 
historian, two centuries later, says that his wife ground her 
malt at home upon her quern. Among the Romans poor 
freemen used sometimes to hire themselves out to the service 
of the mill when all other resources failed; and Plautus is 
said to have done so, being reduced to the extreme of poverty, 
and to have composed his comedies while thus employed. 
This labour, however, fell chiefly upon slaves, and is repre¬ 
sented as being the severest drudgery which they had to 
undergo. Those who had been guilty of any offence were 
sent to the mill as a punishment, and sometimes forced to 


* Many establishments may still be seen in the streets of Naples for grind¬ 
ing corn by means of a hand-mill, turned by a man. Such flour-shops have 
always a picture of the Madonna inside.—Eu. 

t And all the first-born of the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born 
of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid¬ 
servant that is behind the mill, and all the first-born of beasts.—Exod. xi. 5, 


POMPEII. 


358 


work in chains. Asses, however, were used by those who 
could afford it. The bas-relief at the head of this chapter 
represents an ass in a mill, and he seems to be blindfolded, 
to prevent his taking fright. That useful animal seems to 
have been employed in the establishment we are describing, 
for the fragment of a jaw-bone, with several teeth in it, was 
found in a room which seems to have been the stable; and 
the floor about the mills is paved with rough pieces of stone, 
while in the rest of the rooms it is made of stucco or compost. 
'Jdie use of water-mills, however, was not unknown to the 
Eomans. Vitruvius describes their construction in terms not 
inapplicable to the mechanism of a common mill of the 
2 )resent day,* and other ancient authors refer to them. “ Set 
not your hands to the mill, 0 women that turn the mill¬ 
stone ! sleep sound though the cock’s crow announce the 
dawn, for Ceres has charged the nymphs with the labours 
which employed your arms. These, dashing from the summit 
of a wheel, make its axle revolve, which, by the help of 
moving radii, sets in action the weight of four hollow mills. 
We taste anew the life of the first men, since we have learnt 
to enjoy, without fatigue, the produce of Ceres.’’t 

In the centre of the pier, at the back, is the aperture to 
the cistern by which the water used in making bread was 
supplied. On each side are vessels to hold the water On 
the pier above is a painting, J divided horizontally into two 



Painting in the Bakehouse. 

compartments. The figures in the upper one are said to 
represent the worship of the goddess Fornax, the goddess of 
the oven, which seems to have been deified solely for the 


* Vitruv. X. 10. 

t Antipnter of Thessalonica, ap. Brunck. Analecta Groeca, tom. ii. p. 119. 
X Now obliterated. 



ART OF BAKING. 


359 ■ 

advantages which it possessed over the old method of baking 
on the hearth. Below, two guardian serpents roll towards 
an altar crowned with a fruit very much like a pine-apple; 
while above, two little birds are in chase of large flies. 
These birds, thus placed in a symbolical picture, may he 
considered, in perfect accordance with the spirit of ancient 
mythology, as emblems of the genii of the place, employed 
in driving those troublesome insects from the bread. 

The oven is on the left. It is-made with considerable 
attention to economy of heat. The real oven is enclosed in 
a sort of ante-oven, which had an aperture in the top for 
the smoke to escape. The hole in the side is for the intro¬ 
duction of dough, which was prepared in the adjoining room, 
and deposited through that hole upon the shovel with which 
the man in front placed it in the oven. The bread, when 
baked, was conveyed to cool in a room on the other side the 
oven, by a similar aperture. Beneath the oven is an ash-pit. 
To the right is a large room which is conjectured to have 
been a stable. The jaw-bone above mentioned and some 
other fragments of a skeleton were found in it. There is a 
reservoir for water at the further end, which passes through 
the wall, and is common both to this room and the next, so 
that it could be filled without going into the stable. The 
further room is fitted up with stone basins, which seem to 
have been the kneading-troughs. It contains also a narrow 
and inconvenient staircase. 

Though bread-corn formed the principle article of nourish¬ 
ment among the Italian^, the use of bread itself was not of 
early date. For a long time the Romans used their corn 
sodden into pap, and there were no bakers in Rome ante¬ 
cedent to the war against Perseus, king of Macedonia,* about 
A. u. 580. Before this every house made its own bread, and 
this was the task of the women, except in great houses, where 
there were men-cooks. And even after the invention of bread 
it was long before the use of mills was kno^vn, but the grain 
was bruised in mortars. Hence the namesp^s^o?' Midipistriniim^ 
a baker and baker’s shop, which are derived from pinsere, to 
pound. The oven also was of late introd uction, as we have 
hinted in speaking of the goddess Fornax, nor did it ever 


Pliny, xviii. 


POMPEII. 


360 

come into exclusive use. We hear of panis siibcineritius, 
bread baked under the ashes ; artopticius, baked in the artopta, 
or bread-pan, which was probably of the nature of a Dutch 
oven; and other sorts, named either from the method of their 
preparation or the purpose to which they were to be applied. 
The finest sort was called siligineus, and was prepared from 
siligo, the best and whitest sort of wheaten flour. A bushel 
of the best wheat of Campania, which was of the first quality, 
containing sixteen sextarii, yielded four sextarii of siligo, 
here seemingly used for the finest flour ; half a bushel of flos, 
bolted flour; four sextarii of cibarium, seconds; and four 
cextarii of bran; thus giving an excess of four sextarii. 



Bread discovered in Pompeii. 


Their loaves appear to have been very often baked in moulds, 
several of which have been found: these may possibly be 
artoptfe, and the loaves thus baked, artopticii. Several of 
these loaves have been found entire. They are flat, and 
about eight inches in diameter. One in the Neapolitan 
Museum has a stamp on the top :— ^ 

SILIGO . CRANII 
E . CICER 

This has been interpreted to mean that cicer (vetch) was mixed 
with the flour. We know from Pliny that the Romans used 
several sorts of grain. 


FULLONICA. 


361 




/ 

% 

\ 


V 


Fullers at work; from a painting in the Fullonica. 










































362 


POMPEII. 


In front of tlie liouse, one on eacli side the doorway, there 
are two shops. Neither of these has any communication 
with the house : it is inferred, therefore, that they were let 
out to others, like the shops belonging to more distinguished 
persons. This supposition is the more probable, because 
none of the bakeries found have had shops attached to them ; 
and there is a painting in the grand work on Herculaneum, 
Le Pitture d’Ercolano, which represents a bread-seller esta¬ 
blished in the Forum, with his goods on a little table in the 
open air.* 

There is only one other trade, so far as we are aware, with 
respect to the practices of which any knowledge has been 
gained from the excavations at Pompeii—that of fulling and 
scouring cloth. This art, owing to the difference of ancient 
and modern habits, was of much greater importance formerly 
than it now is. Wool was almost the only material used for 
dresses in the earlier times of Rome, silk being unknown 
till a late period, and linen garments being very little used. 
Woollen dresses, however, especially in the hot climate of 
Italy, must often have required a thorough purification, and 
on the manner in which this was done of course their beauty 
very much depended. And since the toga, the chief article 
of Roman costume, was woven in one piece, and was of course 
expensive, to make it look and wear as well as possible was 
very necessary to persons of small fortune. The method 
pursued has been described by Pliny and others, and is well 
illustrated in some paintings found upon the walls of a 
building, which evidently was a fullonica, or scouring-house. 
The building in question is entered from the Street of 
Mercury, and is situated in the same island as the House of 
the Tragic Poet. A plan of the whole island, including the 
Fullonica, is given on p. 367. 

The first operation was that of washing, which was done 
with water mixed with some detergent clay, or fuller’s earth; 
soap does not appear to have been used. This was done in 
vats, where the cloths were trodden and well worked by the 
feet of the scourer. The preceding cut, taken from the walls 
of the Fullonica, represents four persons thus employed. 
Their dress is tucked up, leaving the legs bare : it consists of 

* One of the bakeries in the House of Pansa seems to have had a shop 
attached to it.—E d. 


FULLONICA. 


363 


two tunics, the under one being yellow and the upper green. 
Three of them seem to have done their work, and to be 
wringing the articles on which they have been employed; 
the other, his hands resting on the wall on each side, is 
jumping, and busily working about the contents of his vat. 
When dry, the cloth was brushed and carded, to raise the nap 
—at first with metal cards, afterwards with thistles. A plant 
called teazle is now largely cultivated in England for the 
same purpose. The cloth was then fumigated with sulphur. 



Carding a Tunic; from a painting in the Fullonica. 

and bleached in the sun by throwing water repeatedly upon 
it while spread out on gratings. In the precedmg cut the 
workman is represented as brushing or cardmg a tunic 
suspended over a rope. Another man carries a frame and 
pot, meant probably for fumigation and bleaching; the pot 
containing live coals and sulphur, and being placed 
the frame, so that the cloths spread upon the latter would be 
fully exposed to the action of the pent-up vapour. The 










POMPEII. 


364 

person who carries these things wears something on his head, 
which is said to he an olive garland. If so, that, and the owl 
sitting upon the frame, probably indicate that the establish¬ 
ment was under the patronage of Minerva, the tutelary 
goddess of the loom. Below is a female examining the work 
which a younger girl has done upon a piece of yellow cloth. 
A golden net upon her head, a necklace and bracelets, denote 
a person of higher rank than one of the mere workpeople of 
the establishment: it probably is either the mistress herself, 
or a customer inquiring into the quality of the work which 
has been done for her. 



Clothes-press; from a painting in the t'ullonica. 


These pictures, with others illustrative of the various 
processes of the art, were found upon a pier in the peristyle 
of the Fullonica. Among them we may mention one that 





















































rULLONICA. 


365 


represents a press, similar in construction to those now in 
use, except that there is an unusual distance between the 
threads of the screw. The ancients, therefore, were acquainted 
with the practical application of this mechanical power. In 
another is to be seen a youth delivering some pieces of cloth 
to a female, to whom, perhaps, the task of ticketing, and 
preserving distinct the different property of different persons, 
was allotted. It is rather a curious proof of the importance 
attached to this trade, that the due regulation of it was a 
subject thought not unworthy of legislative enactments. 
A. TJ. 354, the censors laid down rules for regulating the 
manner of washing dresses; and we learn from the digests of 
the Eoman law, that scourers were compelled to use the 
greatest care not to lose or to confound property. Another 
female, seated on a stool, seems occupied in cleaning one of 
the cards. Both of the figures last described wear green 
tunics: the first of them has a yellow under-tunic, the latter 
a white one. The resemblance in colours between these 
dresses and those of the male fullers above described may 
perhaps warrant a conjecture that there was some kind of 
livery or prescribed di*ess belonging to the establishment, 
or else the contents of the painter’s colour-box must have 
been very limited. 

The whole pier on which these paintings were found has 
been removed to the museum at Naples. In the peristyle 
was a large earthenware jar, which had been broken across 
the middle, and the pieces then sewn carefully and laboriously 
together with wire. The value of these vessels, therefore, 
cannot have been very small, though they were made of the 
most common clay. At the eastern end of the peristyle there 
was a pretty fountain, with a jet d’eau. The western end is 
occupied by four large vats in masonry, lined with stucco, 
about seven feet deep, which seem to have received the water 
in succession, one from another 


366 


POMPEII. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HOUSE OP THE TRAGIC POET—OF THE GREAT AND LITTLE 
FOUNTAINS—OF APOLLO—THE FAUN, ETC. 

The island wliich lies eastward of the House of Pansa con¬ 
tains, besides the Fullonica, three houses, the discovery of 
which excited a great sensation, not so much for their extent, 
which is small compared with that of several others, hut on 
account of the richness and beauty, or singularity of their 
decorations. These have respectively received the names of 
the House of the Tragic Poet, and the Houses of the Great 
and Little Fountains. We give a larger plan of tliis island. 

The House of the Tragic Poet was excavated towards the 
end of the year 1824, and excited universal admiration from 
the number and beauty of its paintings. Of these some have 
been removed to the Museum at Naples; the rest have 


HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET, 





867 

















































































POMPEII. 


368 

perished, or are perishing. This is the more to be regretted, 
because, at a small expense, the whole house might have 
been covered in, and preserved for many years in nearly the 
same state of beauty as when it was fost discovered. For¬ 
tunately, the art of detaching frescoes from walls, in order 
to rescue them from the certain ruin consequent on exposure 
to weather, has been brought to such perfection, that of the 
numerous experiments which have been, and continue to be 
made (for every fresco of importance is removed), not one 
has failed. This process is not one of modern invention, 
but was known to the ancients. 

The doors turned upon pivots, received in two bronze 
sockets let into the marble threshold, the outer part of which 


O 

O 


O O 

O o 
O o 
f M 

o o 

Mosaic at the entrance of the Prothyrum of the Tragic Poet’s House. 

rises about an inch higher than the bottom of the door. Upon 
entering the visitor may be startled, for the first object which 
meets his eye is a large fierce dog, apparently in the act of 




HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. 3G9 

springing upon him. This device is worked in mosaic on 
the pavement, and is well executed : the dog is black, spotted 
with white, and he has a red collar. Beneath is written, in 
large legible characters, “ Cave Canem ” (’Ware Dog).* ’ It 
appears from ancient authorities that it was not uncommon 
to place pictures of dogs in the vestibule with this inscrip¬ 
tion; and, indeed, we may suppose that live dogs were 
sometimes kept there, since it seems hardly possible to have 
dispensed with the protection of those watchful animals, 
where the whole house, as was the ancient custom, stood so 
invitingly open to every visitor. Below the inscription is a 
hole in the pavement, to give passage to the rain water which 
might force its way in ; a clumsy contrivance, indicative of 
bad workmanship. 

The reader will be at no loss to comprehend the disposition 
of the house after the many examples which have been fully 
explained, and to recognize the vestibule, atrium, alse, tabli- 
num, fauces, and peristyle. The large room on the right of 
the peristyle is the triclinium; beside it is the kitchen ; the 
smaller apartments which surround it and the atrium are 
chambers for the use of the family. The one next to the 
private entrance into the peristyle is called the library, and 
is lighted by the window, of which a view has been already 
given from without. These rooms are all about twelve feet 
in height. They were generally closed by folding-doors, 
as is evident from the sockets let into the thresholds to 
receive the pivots upon which they turned, and from the 
two holes in the centre for bolts. The two large apart¬ 
ments on each side of the vestibule appear, from the ample 
openings in front of them, to have been shops; but they 
communicate with the corridor, which is not usual, except 
where the shops were occupied by the master of the house. 
It has been supposed, from the number of valuable articles 
found in them, that the occupier was a jeweller or gold¬ 
smith, and the arrangement of these shops gives some 
countenance to this opinion.f Nor is there any strong 

* Thi-;, mosaic is now removed to the floor of the room containing the col¬ 
lections from Pompeii and Herculaneum in the National Museum at Naples. 

t This idea was started by Cell. But these valuable articles were found at 
a height of about six palms tfom the floor, and seem to have fallen in, together 
with some pieces of mosaic pavement, fjom an upper story.—See Pomn^. Ant 
Hist., Oct. 16, 1824 (t. ii. p. 126 ).—Ed. 


POMPEII. 


370 

evidence to support the belief that it belonged to a poet; for 
excepting the mosaic representing the distribution of masks, 
and the picture of a poet reading, there is nothing in the 
house particularly connected either with tragedy or poetry. 
The owner, however, was evidently a man of taste and 
cultivation. 

'The vestibule is about six feet wide, and nearly thirty 
long: a curtain or door was probably placed at the entrance 
of the atrium, which is about twenty-eight feet by twenty. 
It is provided as usual with impluvium and puteal. The 
floor is paved with white tesserae, spotted with black, and 
round the impluvium there is a well-executed interlaced 
pattern, also in black. The walls were richly ornamented 
with paintings, most of which, however, have been carried to 
tlie museum. We have inserted figures in the plan, with a 
view of showing their distribution. 


1. Marriage oi’ Feleus and Thetis, 
otherwise called the interview 
of Thetis and Jupiter. 

2. Parting of Achilles and Briseis. 

3. Painting much decayed, sup¬ 
posed to represent the de¬ 
parture of Chryseis. 


4. Battle of Amazons. 

5. Fall of Icarus. 

6. Venus Anadyomene. 

7. Sacrifice of Iphigenia. 

8. Leda and Tyndareus. 

9. Theseus and Ariadne. 
10. Cupid. 


The subject of the first picture is at best doubtful. It 
consists of three principal figures—a man of middle ago 
seated, who is in the act of taking the left arm of a female, 
who seems to extend it reluctantly, with an expression by no 
means good-tempered. A winged figure, which stands behind 
her, seems to urge her on, and to induce her to present the 
right hand. At Peleus’ feet are three children, which may 
bo, it is said, the offspring of a former marriage to Antigone. 
These children, however, if such they are, are men in minia¬ 
ture, though, judging by their size, they should be little 
better than infants. A similar fault is found by critics in 
the celebrated group of Laocoon. The countenance of the 
n-oddess is, as we have said, by no means amiable. Some 
perceive in this the reluctance with which she consented to a 
mortal alliance, especiully to a widower with three children; 
others have imagined that the picture represents the return 
of Helen to Menelaus, when the lady certainly had good 



HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. 


371 

cause to look ratlier sulky; others believe it to represent the 
moment when Thetis complains to Jupiter of the injustice 
done to Achilles. In neither of the two latter interpretations 
are the children and the winged figure accounted for; and of 
three unsatisfactory solutions, the first appears the best, 
especially as a pillar in the back-ground supports instruments 
of music, which seem more in character with a wedding than 
with either of the other two occasions. The story is well 
known. Jupiter was enamoured of Thetis, but was prevented 
from prosecuting his suit by an oracle which declared that 
she would bear a son who would prove greater than his 
father. In consequence of this it was determined to marry 
her to a mortal, and Peleus was the person fixed upon. The 
heads and drapery are said to be fine, but, as a whole, the 
picture is far inferior in beauty to that which we have next 
to describe ; which represents Achilles delivering Briseis to 
the heralds, who were to conduct her to Agamemnon. 
Bather than attempt to describe, at second - hand, this, 
perhaps the most beautiful specimen of ancient painting 
which has been preserved to modern times, we will avail 
ourselves of Sir W. Gell’s description, from whom indeed 
nearly the whole of the information contained in this chapter 
is drawn. The size of the painting is four feet wide by four 
feet two inches high. 

“ The scene seems to take place in the tent of Achilles, 
who sits in the centre. Patroclus, with his back towards the 
spectator, and with a skin of deeper red, leads in from the 
left the lovely Briseis, arrayed in a long and floating veil of 
apple green. Her face is beautiful, and, not to dwell upon 
the archness of her eye, it is evident that the voluptuous 
pouting of her ruby lip was imagined by the painter as one 
of her most bewitching attributes. Achilles presents the 
fair one to the heralds on his right, and his attitude, his 
manly beauty, and the magnificent expression of his counte¬ 
nance are inimitable. 

“ The tent seems to be divided by a drapery about breast- 
high, and of a sort of dark-bluish green, like the tent itself. 
Behind this stand several warriors, the golden shield of one 
of whom, whether intentionally or not on the part of the 
painter, forms a sort of glory round the head of the principal 
hero. 


372 


ro-MPEii. 


“ It is probably tbe copy of one of tbe most celebrated 
pictures of antiquity. 

“ When first discovered the colours were fresh, and the 
flesh particularly had the transparency of Titian. It suffered 
much and unavoidably during the excavation, and something 
from the means taken to preserve it, when a committee of 
persons qualified to judge had decided that the wall on which 
it was painted was not in a state to admit of its removal with 
safety. At length, after an exposure of more than two years, 



Achilles delivering Briseis to the Heralds. 

it was thought better to attempt to transport it to the Studii 
at Naples than to suffer it entirely to disappear from the 
wall. It was accordingly removed with success in the summer 
of the year 1826 , and it is hoped that some remains of it 
may exist for posterity. 

“ The painter has chosen the moment when the heralds 
Talthybius and Eurybates are put in possession of Briseis, 






















HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET 373 

to escort her to the tent of Agamemnon, as described in the 
first book of the Iliad,* and thus translated by Pope :_ 

Fatroclus now the unwilling beauty brought * 

She in soft soriow and in pensive thought 
Passed silent, as the heralds held her hand, 

And oft looked back, slow moving o’er the sand. 

“ The head of Achilles is so full of fire and animation, that 
an attempt has been made to introduce a facsimile of it. 



Head of Achilles. 

Though a facsimile, as far as being traced with transparent 
paper from the original can make it so, it gives but a very 
imperfect idea of the divinity which seems to animate the 
hero of the T)ainting.f The extreme vivacity, dignity and 
beauty of the head are but faintly expressed, and all those 
faults seem exaggerated which the sl^ill of the artist and 

* A. 345. 

t Tills is veiy finely engraved in the second series of Sir William Cell’s 
Pompeiana, [Tlie original drawing was made by Ternites.] 


374 


POMPEII. 


the colouring of the original concealed. One of the eyes in 
particular is larger than the other, and there may be other 
defects, which totally disapj^ear when observed with the 
entire painting, leaving the impression of the finest youthful 
head in existence.”* Patroclus stands by Achilles, his face 
half turned to the spectator with a lowering expression, as if 
he sympathized in the injury done to his friend, and waited 
but his signal to resent it, while groups of myrmidons in 
the background seem to share in his feelings. 

Corresponding with this, on the left of the door of the 
cubiculum, is another picture, which unfortunately is so 
much defaced that the very subject remains doubtful. The 
subject of Briseis, however, naturally suggested for its com¬ 
panion the restoration of Chryseis, with which the remains 
of the picture agree tolerably well; though they have also 
been taken to represent Andromache with the young Astyanax 
going into slavery after the capture of Troy. All that can 
be made out is a female in long robes, under a blue sky, 
whose hands are kissed by children, while an elderly per¬ 
son looks on from the right; and on the left, under a red 
portal, an armed man with helmet and plume is seen behind 
the principal figure. The chief personage seems to be 
stepping on board a galley. 

To the left of this picture is the ala, or wing, of which in 
this house there is but one. It presents nothing remarkable. 
Opposite to the picture of Achilles and Briseis is a sea-piece, 
now almost undistinguishable, though at first it might be 
recognized as commemorating the fall of Icarus. A winged 
sea-god on a dolphin seems to be assisting the unfortunate 
adventurer. The other picture in this atrium, on the left 
side of the entrance, is a Venus, at whose feet a dove is 
lying with a myrtle branch in her beak. The figure resembles 
in attitude the Medicean Venus, and the colouring is compli¬ 
mented by being compared to that of Titian. Still to the 
left of this is a small chamber painted yellow, with black 
pilasters, in which there was a staircase which led to the 
upper floor. During the excavations, the fragments of a 
mosaic pavement, containing a head of Bacchus which had 
fallen from above, were found, together with a considerable 


* Cell, second series, vol. i. p. 155-7; vol. ii. p, 105, 


HOUSE OF THE TRACxIC POET. 


375 


number and variety of female ornaments. Among these 
were two gold necklaces, a twisted gold cord, four bracelets 
farmed into serpents with many convolutions, one weighing 
seven ounces, four earrings, each of two pearls, suspended 
as it were from a balance, and a ring of onyx, with a youth¬ 
ful head engraved on it. These jewels seemed to have fallen 
from the upper story, and lay not more than five feet below 
the surface of the soil. Fragments of skeletons were found 
on the same spot, which bore marks of having been pre¬ 
viously searched, though without finding the valuables which 
probably were known to be contained about this place. In 
other parts of the house a number of coins, and various 
articles in bronze, iron, and earthenware were found; among 
them hatchets, a hammer, kitchen utensils, two heels for 
boots, with holes for nails, lamps, bottles, &c. 

The paintings of one side of the central chamber on this 
side of the atrium are also remarkable. It is divided into 
rectangular compartments by three perpendicular and three 
horizontal lines. Upon a basement stand columns support¬ 
ing an entablature, on each side of which are represented in 
perspective other columns, forming galleries, decorated with 
festoons, vases, and griffins : at the base of the larger columns 
is a balustrade, which species of ornament appears so fre¬ 
quently in these architectural paintings, that we are led to 
conclude it was in common use as a protection to the terraces 
which surmounted the Pompeian houses. In the centre is a 
painting of Phrixus and Ilelle, and on each side of the 
columns are Cupids, carrying different articles of female 
dress. Above the whole is a broad frieze, upon which is 
represented, on a white ground, the combat between the 
Greeks and Amazons. Some of the female warriors are in 
chariots, some on horses, and they are armed with bows as 
well as with their usual shields and battle-axes. They are 
clothed in blue, green, and purple draperies, and are repre¬ 
sented in violent action, often pursuing the Greeks, at times 
falling before them. The men are distinguished by wearing 
liolmets, while the w^omen have the head bare. These figures 
are more remarkable for their spirited composition than for 
accuracy of drawing, nor can they be esteemed equal, in 
respect of finish, to several of the paintings found in this 
house. One figure of a wounded Amazon, whose horse is 


376 


POMPEII. 


falling, and wlio yet retains her seat, is mentionc/d as a 
master^Diece of attitude. In this chamber there is also a 
painting of Europa and the Bull. 

VVe now come to the tablinum. The most remarkable 
thing in it is the mosaic representing the distribution of 
masks to a chorus, which has been figured, and described in 
Part. I., p. 203. This room also contains the picture ot 
a poet reading, which has been chiefly instrumental in pro¬ 
curing for the house the name which it now bears. In the 
foreground is a male figure, reading from a roll to two 
others, one male the other female, all seated. In the back¬ 
ground, leaning on a sort of partition which separates them 
from the others, are Apollo and a female figure, supposed to 
be a Muse, and on the other side of the painting a woman 
and an old man. The skin of the reader is considerably 
darker than that of the others, which has made some persons 
suppose that he was a slave, and that it represents Plautus, 
or some of the Athenians taken prisoners at Syracuse, who 
are reported by Thucydides to have softened the hardships of 
their fate in consequence of the delight which their masters 
took in hearing them repeat the verses of Euripides. Others 
think that it is the celebrated scene which occurred when 
Virgil was reciting the iEneid to Augustus and Octavia, when 
he came to the elegiac passage upon the death of Marcellus, 
but the very scanty drapery of both the male figures rather 
militates against this conclusion. The walls are adorned 
with a variety of fantastical ornaments, such as pillars with 
human heads for capitals, sustaining capricious entablatures, 
swans, goats, lions, &c., among which we may particularly 
mention a border of harpies in the form in which they are 
usually given, as this is said to be perhaps the only ancient 
authority for the form of those beings yet found. 

The peristyle consists of seven Doric columns, enclosing a 
small court, probably planted with flowers, which stand upon 
a sort of podium, painted red, as well as the lower part of 
the pillars. A tortoise was kept in the garden, as we may 
infer from the shell of the animal being found on the spot. 
The further wall is painted blue, to imitate the sky, while 
below it the tops of trees are visible over a parapet, forming 
another specimen of that sort of painting known by the 
name of opera topiaria, which we have described in speaking 


HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET 


377 



S;tio (if a wall cf a small apavtmcTit m the T ragic Puoi’s House. 




































































































































































































378 


POMPEII. 


of the House of Actaeen. At the left angle of the colonnade 
is a small sedicula, or shrine, in which probably stood a 
statue found near the spot, representing a faun carrying 
flowers and fruits. A railing ran between the pillars to 
prevent wanton intrusion upon the flowers, as the holes 
made for its reception still show. Several frogs in terra¬ 
cotta were found here, which served as spouts to the roof of 
the portico. On this side the tablinum was evidently closed 
with doors or shutters, of the kind called voluhiles, in many 
compartments : to the atrium it was probably closed only by 
curtains, at least no signs of the existence of shutters on that 
side are to be seen. 



Female and Cupid fishing. 


and implements of writing; the other contains two pictures, 
one of Venus and Cupid fishing, the other of Ariadne. Both 




























HOUSE OF THE TKAGIC POET. 


379 


of these are graceful and well executed. At the end of the 
right branch of the colonnade is the sacrifice of Iphigenia. 
The moment is taken at which Chalcas is about to strike the 
fatal blow. Iphigenia, borne in the arms of two men, is 
appealing to her father, who stands in the front of the 
picture, turned away from her, with his head veiled, which 
we may suppose to have been the received way of treating 
the subject ever after the first painter received so much 



applause for thus escaping the necessity of expressing 
passions which his art was unable to portray. The figure of 
the maiden is beautiful, but, by a strange oversight, she has 
no legs, or if she has, they are hidden behind one of her 
supporters in a way which it is not very easy to understand. 
The draperies are for the most part shacles of blue and 
purple, and the effect of the whole picture is too red. Above, 




























380 


POMPEII. 


Diana appears in the clouds, with the hind which was to 
supply Iphigenia’s place as a victim. To the left is seen a 
golden statue of the goddess, hearing a lighted torch in each 
hand, and with two dogs at her feet. 

At the side of this picture we enter a room near twenty 
feet square, and of considerable height. It is called the 
Triclinium, or the Chamber of'Leda, from a painting which 



occupies the centre of one of the walls. It is painted with 
the brightest shades of red and yellow, in the fantastic 
architectural style of which we have so often spoken. In 
this we have a view of the roof and impluvium of an atrium, 
which, if there were any doubt a^to the internal appearance 
of that member of the building, would be sufficient to remove 






















HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. 


381 


it. It is decorated, as we have described in various instances, 
with ornamental antefixes. The lower part of the wall is 
decorated with garlands, sea-horses, and other ornaments, on 
black panels. V/e give an outline of the painting, which 
gives its name to the chamber. This is considered to be one 
of the most beautiful productions of ancient art, not only for 
elegance of design, but for chastity and harmony of colouring. 
The mythological fable of the birth of Castor and Pollux, 
and Helen, is so well knov/n that it need not be repeated. 
Leda holds her three children in a boat-shaped vessel, that 
looks almost like an egg-shell, and presents them to her 
husband Tyndareus, who looks at them with a pleased 
exj)ression. It is remarkable, if the fact be correctly stated, 
as an instance of the change which takes place in the colours 
of these pictures after they have been exposed to the air, 
that an artist who copied this painting a few days after its 
discovery, states that the drapery of the princess was green, 
lined with blue, and the robe of Tyndareus black, lined with 
green. Yet about a month afterwards the robe of Leda was 
red and that of Tyndareus purple, and so they have remained 
to the present day. Reds usually change to black. The 
landscape in the background is much faded. 

The other two numbers in this room refer to pictures, one 
of which contains a beautiful Cupid, leaning on the knees 
of Venus, to whom Adonis seems to be addressing himself; 
the other is the - constantly-recurring Ariadne, the most 
favourite, except perhaps Perseus and Andromeda, of all 
subjects. It represents her sleeping on a mattress, her head 
surrounded by an azure glory (the usual colour), while 
Theseus, who has just quitted her, is in the act of stepping 
on board his galley, in defiance of distance and perspective. 
Above, Minerva appears in the air, and seems to direct him. 
Both of these paintings are much defaced, so that it is not 
easy to judge of their merit, but the composition of the last 
has nothing to recommend it. 

On the plinth is painted a combat between two centaurs 
and a lion. The fierce animal is about to spring upon one of 
them, who seems to call to his companion for help, and the 
latter, bearing a lance in his hand, turns to defend him. The 
truth with which the lion is painted is t'^markable, and may 
U) attributed to the freqiffent opportunities which painters 


382 


POMPEII 



# 


Centaurs painted on a black ground in the Triclinium of the Tragic Poet’s House. Now almost effaced. 




















HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. 


383 



Jluuse of Lbe rrap:ic Poet, as restored by Sir W. GelL 







































































































































































































































































384 


POMPEII. 


had of observing wild animals in the sports of the amphi¬ 
theatre. 

'I'liis chamber is prettily paved in mosaic, and is conjectured 
to have been lighted by a row of small windows elevated 
above the roof of the peristyle. Even in its present state it 
is sufficiently lofty. 

The plate on p. 383, which represents the interior of this 
house restored, is one of those which we are permitted to 
extract from the second series of ‘ Pompeiana.’ Very little 
of this restoration is the work of fancy, owing to the perfect 
state in which the building was found. The roof has been 
added, together with the uppermost part of the walls; 
the ornaments are given, either from indications which 
remain, or are copied from similar situations in different 
houses. The view comprehends the atrium, tablinum, and 
peristyle, being bounded by the painted wall above described. 
On the pier on the right hand is the picture of Chryseis. 
Probably the entrance to the tablinum was closed, either by 
curtains or by folding doors; but in the uncertainty of the 
exact nature of the partition, the restorer has judged it better 
to omit it altogether. This view therefore may be depended 
upon for conveying a tolerably correct notion of one of the 
most elegant houses, upon a small scale, contained in Pompeii. 
The total want of privacy is repugnant to our notions of 
comfort; but it can hardly be denied that there is an air of 
splendour in the extensive and richly-decorated suite of rooms, 
which is scarcely equalled in modern houses of a similar 
class. 

Between the House of the Poet and the triumphal arch 
are several rooms which bear the appearance of having been 
used as places of refreshment for those who frequented the 
baths. In one of these was discovered a skeleton under a 
stone staircase. He had with him a treasure of considerable 
value, consisting of rings and earrings of gold, together with 
about one hundred and forty coins of brass and silver. Some¬ 
where in this neighboiu’hood there were found, in 1826, 
vases with olives still swimming in oil. The fruit retained 
its flavour, and the oil burnt well. 

In Herculaneum also olives have been found in a vessel, 
the upper part of which was full of volcanic ashes, the lower 
containing the olives imbedded in a sediment of the con- 


HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. 


JJ85 

s'stence of butter. In form and size they resemble Spanish 
olives. Some of them still retain the stalk. The stones are 
shorter and thicker than in the varieties now cultivated, and 
the longitudinal channelling is more determined. Their 
colour is black, mixed with small particles of green, which 
are recognized by a strong magnifier to belong to the licliens 
which are generally produced on organic substances during 
putrefaction. These were not apparent when first discovered, 
but the action of the air in a very few hours produced an 
alteration on their rurface. They are still soft, and have a 
strong rancid odour and a greasy taste, which leaves a 
pricking and astringent sensation on the tongue; and they 
are so light as to swim in water, which is a mark of a bad 
olive. 

The whole of the island northward of the poet’s house is 
occupied, first by the Fullonica, then by the Houses of the 
Great and Little Fountains. Of these two houses, the first 
is of considerable size and pretensions, but part of its area 
is occupied by a small se 2 )arate habitation, which com* 
niimicates with, and appears to belong to, the Fullonica. A 
liandsome entrance in the Street of Mercury leads into a 
spacious atrium of fifty feet by forty, with the usual distribu¬ 
tion of alie and tablinum. The peristyle contains only three 
columns of a debased Corinthian order; but to make amends, 
it has that which gave its name to the house, and the discovery 
of which excited an unusual sensation at Naples—a fountain 
of much more magnitude and attempt at decoration than any 
other which had been discovered. Not that it possesses any 
great beauty, as will be seen by tlie annexed view, in which 
it forms the principal feature. It was novel, however, and 
at that time indeed almost unique, the only thing resembling 
it being in the adjoining house ; and in addition to this the 
materials are curious, the whole being inernsted with a sort 
of mosaic, consisting of vitrified tesserae of different colours, 
in which blue predominates. The grand divisions of the 
patterns and the borders are formed by real shells, which 
remain perfect and unchanged. Almost all the ornaments 
bear some reference to water, consisting principally of 
aquatic jilants and birds. On each side of the alcove is a 
marble mask, hollowed out, and intended, it is conjectured, 
o receive lights, which at night would have a whimsical and 

2 c 


386 


rOMPEH 



House of Great Fountain; from • Pompeiana 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































HOUSE OF THE GREAT FOUNTAIN. 387 

rather ghastly effect. The water trickled down a little flight 
of steps into a sort of raised piscina, in the front of which is 
a round column, pierced for a pipe, and probably intended 
for a~ jet d’eau. It is a remarkable instance of the general 
negligence of arrangement, that in this house, which was 
evidently one of considerable pretensions, nothing is sym¬ 
metrical. The pillars of the peristyle are not equidistant 
from their antac, and the fountain is opposite neither to an 
intercolumniation, nor to the centre of the opening of the 
tablinum. 

The high wall behind the alcove has lost the paintings 
observable in the plate on p. 386, which is copied from the 
second series of ‘ Pompeiana.’ The plaster fell soon after 
Sir W. Gell had taken his view. They presented another spe¬ 
cimen of the ojpiis topiaiium. In the panels are birds killing 
reptiles, &c., executed with considerable spirit, and below 
them is painted a variety of garden railings. An upper 
line of pictures, one of which represents a boar-hunt, forms 
a sort of frieze. 

The House of the Smaller Fountain is in no respect inferior 
in point of interest to that which we have just described. 
The impluvium has two mouths for cisterns, one of which 
communicated by means of leaden pipes, still visible, with 



the fountain in the peristyle. Between the atrium and 
tablinum is a step, faced with a pretty sculpture of leaves 
and flowers. In the latter apartment there is a painting of 
Cupid milking a goat, remarkable for the lively expression of 


POMPEII. 


388 

the figures. The ala and other apartments ofier nothing re¬ 
markable till we reach the little peristyle, which is surrounded 
by a broad colonnade of only four columns. Here again we 
find a fountain, very like that which we have above described, 
both in design and material. It presents the same sort of 
alcove, surmounted by a pediment, the height of which is 
seven feet seven inches, and the breadth seven feet. The 
face projects five feet from the wall. In front of it there 
was a little scdent bronze fisherman, now in the Museum at 
Naples, which seems, by the position of the hand, to have 
been meant to hold a rod, as if fishing in the piscina, which 
liad in the centre a little column bearing a bird which spouted 
water ; but whether the said bird was a dove or a goose, is a 
matter on which authorities disagree. On the right side was 
a caryatis and a sleeping fisherman, both in marble, but 
these have been removed. It should seem that there was a 
mask in the centre of the alcove which spouted water. 
Besides the leaden pipes which communicated with the 
cistern of the atrium, the brass cocks still remain, by which 
the water could be turned on and off at pleasure, as in modern 
fountains. On the walls of this court there are three land¬ 
scapes, differing in character from anything yet found in 
Pompeii. We give one of them as a specimen : it represents 
a farmhouse, with domestic animals: on the left, leaning 
against the wall, is the yoke for oxen. At the bottom is a 
group of figures, one of whom seems to have just brought in 
a naked infant: it is conjectured that the discovery and 
adoption of OEdipus by the shepherd of Polybus, or some 
similar event is here depicted. One of the other pictures re¬ 
presents a seaport, with its moles, boats, villas, and other 
buildings. It is to be observed that the mole is built upon 
arches, a method of construction often represented upon 
ancient medals, and intended to prevent the accumulation of 
n)ud, by leaving apertures for the current to scour out the 
interior. It was found that by suspending floodgates 
vertically from the piers, the agitation of the waves was 
checked enough to secure vessels riding in the interior. The 
horizon is very high in the picture, as is usual, and the blue 
of the sea and sky is nearly the same. It is not improbable 
that this may be a view of some place on the coast. 

Two rooms, one called a triclinium, the other an exedra, 


HOUSE OF THE LITTLE FOUNTAIN. 389 

or hall for company., open into the portico. . The former is 
painted in imitation of brickwork the latter contains 
pictures of game and hunting. Around the peristyle and 
atrium the usual allotment of sleeping-rooms is observable. 
This house has two staircases, and therefore must have had 
an upper floor ; and it is rather remarkable that it possesses 
a second entrance, which gave access to the peristyle and 



private apartments without passing through the atrium. At 
the corner of this house, in the Street of Mercury, is the 
fountain of Mercury, on which the head and caduceus of the 
god are rudely sculptured. On an opposite wall is painted 
a figure of the same knavish deity, running away with a 
stolen purse. About this spot five skeletons were found, 
with various coins, bracelets, and rings about them. 





















































■ 390 


POMPEII. 


The island lying to the north of that just described, and 
between it and the city wall, contains two noticeable houses, 
the House of Adonis and that of Apollo. The House of 
Adonis, which lies in the middle of the insula, and has its 
entrance in the Street of Mercury, derives its name from a 
picture, with figui*es of a colossal size, representing Adonis 
wounded and expiring in the arms of Venus. Other pictures 
are the toilet of Hermaphroditus, a sleeping Bacchus, &c. 

Still more remarkable is the House of Apollo, lying 
northwards of the House of Adonis, close to the city walls, 
and also entered from the Street of Mercury. The name 
was derived from some paintings of Apollo, and especially 
from a little bronze statue of the hermaphrodite Apollo, 
found in a niche of the tablinum, and now in the Museum. 
In an opposite niche was the hind of Diana followed by a 
young fawn. On the two lateral walls of the same apart¬ 
ment are small pictures, the subject of one of which is 
Adonis reposing with a little Cupid, and of the other the 
toilet of Venus. There are also some medallion heads. On 
the wall of the atrium is a j)icture representing the course of 
the sun through the zodiac; a figui-e of Apollo with rays 
round his head, holding a whip in the right hand, and in the 
left a globe. The walls of some of the apartments are 
adorned with arabesque paintings and ornaments in stucco. 
In the second court, or peristyle, which, however, has no 
columns, is a fountain of a somewhat bizarre kind. In the 
middle is a pyramid, on the top of which stood a little 
statue, now in the Museum, holding under its arm a goose, 
from the mouth of which the water issued, falling down four 
little marble staircases on each of the sides of the pyramid. 
The wall under which the fountain lies has a large painting 
representing Diana standing on a pedestal in the middle of a 
little basin or fountain, in which ducks are swimming. The 
basin is surrounded with a grove of orange and other trees, 
tilled with birds of splendid plumage. 

On the right of this court is a kind of ala, communicating 
with the adjoining xystus, and having four small chambers, 
one of which has a handsome marble pavement. There is 
a vestibule containing a staircase, and also a kitchen with an 
oven, and a small lararium, with the usual painting of serpents 
and a priest making a libation. Before it is the little stono 


HOUSE OE APOLLO. 


391 


altar consecrated to Fornax.* At the bottom of the court 
is an exedi’a, with a threshold of oriental alabaster, and a 
pavement formed by an assemblage of the most precious 
marbles. 

On the right of the court some steps descend to the 
xystus. It is three or four feet below the level of the court, 
but a terrace runs round three sides of it of the same height 
as the court. The walls of the terrace are covered with some 
not very well executed paintings of trees, birds, and several 
large female figures resembling Caryatides. At the bottom 
of this terrace on the left is a handsomely-decorated bed¬ 
chamber, considered however by some authorities to be a 
bath. The outward wall has a somewhat rude painting of a 
landscape, with Bacchanalian figures, and on the left a man 
driving an ass. The other wall, in which is the entrance, 
has a rather brilliant mosaic, representing Ulysses discovering 
Achilles at the court of Lycomedes. On the ground, between 
the two heroes, is a shield, with the device of Chiron 
instructing Achilles. The interior of the apartment is 
richly decorated with paintings, on a blue ground, represent¬ 
ing various deities, with columns and other scraps of archi¬ 
tecture. Above is an uudecorated frieze, which, from some 
remains, seems to have been covered with a drapery, over 
which was a stucco cornice. 

Three steps lead from this apartment to the lower level of 
the xystus, in the middle of which is a round marble basin 
inclosed in a square compartment. At the bottom of the 
xystus are the remains of a room or saloon 12 or 14 feet 
square, paved with mosaic, and supported by six columns. 
In the wall are three niches for statues, the middle one of 
which has a vaulted summit, in which remains of mosaic and 
shells may still be seen. It would be difficult to say to what 
purpose this building was apjdied. Some call it a triclinium, 
but it has not the usual shape of that apartment, and it must 
liave been at a considerable distance from the kitchen. 

To the east of the Street of Mercury, two narrow streets 
running parrallel with it from the walls of the town to the 
Street of Fortune are intersected in the middle by another 
narrow street running from west to east, thus forming four 


* Breton, Pompeia, p. 272. 


392 


POMPEII. 



insiilic resembling those already described. One of tlic 
soutlieriimost of these insiilce is wholly occupied by the 
House of the Faun, remarkable for its size and beauty. We 


insert an engraving of it. It was discovered about the time 
when the first edition of this work was preparing for the 
press, in October, 1830, and excavated in that and the two 



















HOUSE OF THE FAUN. 


393 


following years.* It abuts on tlie north side of the Street 
of Fortune, just beyond the Temple of Fortune, on the other 
side of the way. Un the pavement in front of the entrance 
is inscribed the word Have (ave), in letters of coloured marble 
incrusted in opus Signiniim. The prothyrum is divided into 
two unequal portions by a doorway and two steps, the 
smaller portion being towards the street. The second 
portion ascends towards the atrium, and is paved with small 
triangular pieces of variously-coloured marbles. At the top 
of the walls on either side are miniature representations in 
stucco of the colonnade of a temple. The walls of the 
atrium were also covered with stucco painted to resemble 
marble. The impluvium, lined with marble, occupies the 
middle of the area. On a little base on one of its sides 
was found the bronze statuette of the Dancing Faun, now 
in the Museum at Naples, from which the house derives its 
name. We have already given a description of this figure in 
a preceding page, accompanied with an engraving, j- 

The Tuscan atrium, which is about 36 feet broad and 39 
deep, is as usual surrounded with bedchambers and alae ; but, 
what is seldom or never found elsewhere, a door on the right 
opens into another, but somewhat smaller atrium, having also 
an entrance from the Street of Fortune. At the sides of, and 
between these two atria are four shops, of which that at the 
western corner communicates with another smaller room 
behind. These shops, as well as that on the right of the 
principal entrance, have, or had, doors communicating with the 
atrium, a circumstance which seems to show that the master 
of the house must have been concerned in the trade carried 
on in them. From the number of amphorae found on his 
premises, as well as several Bacchic emblems, he was 
probably a wine merchant. At the bottom of the first 
atrium is the tablinum, having an apartment on each side 
of it, and a corridor or fauces leading into the peristyle. 
This is of larger dimensions than usual, occupying nearly the 
whole breadth of the two atria, and being thus, contrary to 
what is commonly found, longer in its breadth—if such an ex¬ 
pression may be allowed—than in its depth. At the back and 
in the right side of this peristyle are other apartments. The 
furthest of these on the right has two or three windows, and 

* Pomp. Antiq. Hist., t. ii. p. 240, seq. 

t ee p. 352. 


POMPEII. 


394 

at a considerable height in the wall, a little niche, or sedicula, 
containing an altar. This part of the building may also be 
entered from the second atrium, or that on the right. 

At the extremity of the whole ground-plan is a large 
quadrangular garden, surrounded with columns forming a 



AcrutUb on u Panther. 

portico. On the left-hand side of this portico may be seen 
about a hundred amphorae for wine, still partially covered 
\vith lajjillo. They are now filled with the same substance, 
the heat c.f the ashes having burnt away the corks or stoppers. 

Ihit what rendered this house remarkable, even more than 
its size and beauty, was the richness of its furniture and 


































HOUSE OF THE FAUN. 


395 

decorations, and especially of its mosaics. In an apartment 
in the middle of the peristyle was found the famous mosaic 
of the battle of Issus, now in the Museum at Naples, which 
we have already described. The threshold of one of the 
doors leading into the atrium had also a mosaic, unique both 
for its execution and for its state of preservation. It is about 
nine and a half feet long by nearly two broad, and displays 
a grand festoon of flowers and fruits, with tragic masks and 
tympana. In another apartment was the beautiful mosaic of 
Acratus, mounted on a panther, of which we annex a plate. 
These have been removed to the Neapolitan Museum but 
two or three mosaics still remain in situ. One cf these in a 
room in the peristyle, representing a large lion, is very much 
damaged. A smaller mosaic in one of the alee is in a better 
state of preservation. It represents three doves and a casket, 
from which one of the doves is stealing a pearl necklace. 



In the tablinum of this house was found the skeleton of a 
woman, whose attitude vividly recalls one of those agonizing 
scenes which characterized the last days of Pompeii. She 
appears to have attempted to escape, but driven back by the 
overwhelming shower of ashes, to have taken refuge in tlio 
tablinum, after throwing on the pavement all her ornaments. 



























POMPEII. 


396 

her mundus muliehris. The apartment, however, afforded no 
secure shelter. The flooring of the room above began to fall 
in, and her uplifted arms betray an attempt to support the 
superincumbent mass which crushed her.^ In an adjoining 
room were other skeletons, among them tnat of an old man. 
Among the jewellery found, which had probably belonged 
to the woman, were two gold bracelets of a serpentine form, 
each weighing a pound; several gold rings with engraved 
stones, one of which represented Hercules lifting his club 
against a serpent wound romid a tree, and flgures of the three 
fl 3 ring Hesperides. On one with a cornelian was engraved a 
very fine head of Atalanta.* 

In the insula to the north of the House of the Faun 
is that of the Labyrinth, which derives its name from a 
mosaic, in one of the rooms of the gynecteum, representing 
Theseus slaying the Minotaur in the Cretan labryinth. The 
Athenian virgins, the destined prey of the monster, are seen 
in attitudes of fear and despair, while on the ground are the 
skeletons of those whom the Minotaur has devoured. ^ This 
house is among the finest in Pompeii. It has two atria, one 
Tuscan, the other tetrastyle, with handsome Corinthian 
columns. On the right-hand side of the latter were found 
the remains of a strong box, ornamented with heads in 
bronze and a meander pattern, and bronze nails round 
the lid. A corridor leads into a peristyle having thirty 
stuccoed columns. In one of the angles of the peristyle was 
a bronze bath, the only one of the kind yet discovered in 
Pompeii. The skeleton of a woman, with her jewels, was 
also found in this garden, at a height of six or seven feet from 
the ground. After surmounting many obstacles in her 
attempt to escape, her strength seems to have failed her, and 
she fell, smothered by the still descending volcanic shower. 

In the island opposite to that just described, on the eastern 
side of the Street of Mercury and close to the triumphal arch, 
is a house known by the various names of Ceres, of the 
Bacchante, of the Ship, and more commonly of Zephyrus and 
Flora. The last name was derived from a large picture, now 
removed to the Museum, containing a number of figures, 
which is called the marriage of Zephyrus and Flora, the 
Dream of Ehea, and several other names. It represents a 


Fiorelli, Pomp. Antiq. Hist., vol. ii. p. 248. 


HOUSE OF CERES 


397 



Atrium of the House of Ceres; from ‘ rumpeiana.’ 





















































































































































































































































































































































































































































398 


POMPEII. 


winged figure, conducted by Cupids or genii, approaching a 
■female slee^ung on the ground. Several other allegorical 
figures are introduced. The composition and drawing arc 



not good, and hardly merit a more particular description. 
The atrium is sufficiently preserved to show that this 
'1 welling was at least two stories high. Indeed the walls are 



















HOUSE OF CERES. 


399 

among the loftiest in Pompeii, and are decorated in such a 
way as to give the room the appearance of being two stories 
in height. The general effect of this atrium is very unlike 
that ol other houses in the town. It is represented in the 
plate on p. 897, which is one of those copied from the second 
seides of ‘ Pompeia;'a.’ In one of the rooms were found the 
remains of wheels, of exactly the same construction as those 
now in use. 1 n the front of the view, which is taken looking 
cowards the vestibule, is a slab of marble covering the mouth 
of a cistern. In this atrium several beautiful paintings have 
been found. Among them a figure of Jupiter, in a con¬ 
templative attitude, the eagle at his feet, and his golden 
sceptre in his hand. His head is surrounded with the 
nimbus, or glory. The throne and footstool are gold, 
ornamented with precious stones; the former is partly 
covered by the green cloth. The god's mantle is violet- 
coloured, lined with azure. 

Behind the house of Zephyrus and Flora is the Casa dell’ 
Ancora, or House of the Anchor, so called from a black and 
white mosaic in the prothyrum representing an anchor. It 
is also sometimes called the House of Amymone and Neptune, 
from a mediocre picture in an apartment on the right. There 
is nothing in this house requiring a particular description. 




400 


POilPEII. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

HOUSES OF CASTOR AND FOLLUX, THE CENTAUR, AND 
MELEAGER, ETC. 

On tlie eastern side of tlie Street of Mercury, and to tlie 
northward of that island which we have just described, are 
three remarkable houses, lying contiguous to one another. 
These have been named the House of Castor and Pollux, the 
House of the Centaur, and the House of Meleager. 

The House of Castor and Pollux, also called the House of 
the Quaestor, is the most southern of the three, and was the 
earliest discovered, that is, between April 1828 and May 
1829. The name given to it by the ciceroni of Poiupeii 
must not be regarded as any certain evidence of the owner’s 
rank. It is derived merely from the circumstance of two 
large chests of considerable beauty and richness of ornament 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 


401 

having been found in the public part of the house, which are 
supposed to have been meant to receive the moneys paid in 
on account of the revenue. There must of course have been 
some superior officer of the revenue in Pompeii to receive 
the port dues, which in a place of such traffic must have 
been considerable, as well as other taxes, on the land, the 
transfer of property, and the various other miscellaneous 



Rustic work and cornices, from tire Hou&e of Castor and Pollux. 

branches of the Eoman revenue. Such an officer, whether a 
quaestor or not, must have been a person of wealth and trust. 
When, therefore, we find in an extensive and elegant house, 
and in the public part of it, where clients and others were 
accustomed to assemble for the despatch of business, two 
chests, in strength, magnificence of construction, and size, 
much beyond that required for the traffic of a private 






























POMPETI. 


402 

individual, the conjecture is not improbable that they were 
intended for the receipt of the public revenue, and that the 
principal officer in that branch of the public service resided 
here. The house is otherwise named the House of the 
Dioscuri, or sons of Jupiter, from two pictures of Castor and 
Pollux in the vestibule. It is, perhaps, one of the richest 
and most remarkable yet discovered. The front projects 
upon the Street of Mercury, and forms one of the corners 
of a quadrivium, or place where four streets meet. It is 
composed of two parts communicating with each other, each 
of which has its separate entrance from the above-named 
street. That to the right is the largest and the most 
ornamented, and seems to have been meant for the use of the 
family; the other part being appropriated to servants and 
offices. 

The ground-plan is delineated in the annexed cut. The 
facade is rich and ornamented with more than usual care, the 
walls being worked in rustic with fine white marble stucco, 
and each block edged with an embossed border formed by 
stamping the wet plaster with a mould—a cheap and rapid 
way of producing a rich effect. The narrow ehannels which 
divide the blocks are painted blue. The cornice also which 
surmounted the principal door, being fii’st roughly carved in 
the tufa of Nocera, was stuccoed, and the stucco moulded in 
a similar manner. No high relief could be produced thus; 
and to give more effect, the intermediate spaces between 
them have been coloured red, black, and blue, so as, by the 
apparent depth of shadow, to produce an appearance of greater 
elevation than the projections possess. 

1. Street of Mercury. 2. Principal entrance. Upon one 
of the jambs of the doorway was painted a Mercury with a 
large purse in his hand, in the act of running. Here we 
may pause to consider the rich and varied perspective of the 
interior—where the Corinthian peristyle with its twelve 
columns, and fountain in the centre of the impluvium, 
beyond it the tablinum, rich with paintings, and in the 
further distance the a3dicula, or shrine of the tutelary deity 
of the house, combined to furnish a coup-d’oeil of more than 
ordinary magnificence. 3. Vestibule, paved with ojpus Slg- 
niniim. The walls are divided into compartments principally 
coloured red and yellow, and painted very beautifnllv with 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 403 

grotesque designs. Upon either side were spirited paintings 
of Castor and Pollux—the Dioscuri, from whom the house 



derives one of its names—reining in their horses. The door 
on the right-hand side leads into a small room, 4, probably 











404 


POMPEII. 


occupied by tlie porter, where there are traces of a stair¬ 
case, 5. 6. Sewer. 7. Atrium. It corresponds with the Corin¬ 
thian atrium of Vitruvius, and is one of the few examples 
which remain of that magnificent style of building. The 
roof was supported by twelve columns placed around the im- 
pluvium, formed of the tufa of Nocera, and coated with 
stucco. They are about twelve feet high and one foot eight 
inches in diameter. The lower half of the shaft is coloured 
red, and the flutings are filled up ; the upper part is white. 
The cornice of the atrium is remarkable for containing the 
dentils of the Ionic order, while the capitals are formed by 
plain rectangular plinths—a singular and unpleasing novelty, 
for which it is not easy to account in a house distinguished 
in general for the richness of its decorations. Like that of 
the entrance, the j)avement is of ojpus Signinum. The implu- 
vium, 8, was ornamented by a small marble fountain, 9, 
prettily designed, representing a water-plant, upon which 
reptiles, such as frogs and lizards, are carved. The flow of 
water was regulated by a bronze key. The basin itself is 
but a few inches deep, so that when the water was not turned 
on, persons might walk across it without difficulty. In the 
central intercolumniation, fronting the tablinum, there is 
what seems to be the base of an altar, 10, probably appro¬ 
priated to the worship of the Lares,* and on the left-hand 
side, 11, the customary puteal, or well-cover. This is made 
of a white calcareous stone, in which the constant friction of 
the cords used in raising water has worn deep channels. The 
walls of the atrium remain perfect nearly to their original 
elevation, as is j^roved by the existence of the capitals of the 
Corinthian pilasters. 

On the left-hand side of the atrium in the corner next the 
tablinum, the two large chests, marked 12 and 13, were 
found, which have given a name to the house.f Each of them 
was raised upon a solid plinth, encrusted with marble. They 
were made of wood, lined with plates of brass, and on the 
exterior bound with iron, and decorated with handles, bosses, 
and a variety of other ornaments, many of which had fallen 

* More probably, as Oveibeck remarks, the base of*a statue. 

t But without much reason, as similar chests have been found in other 
houses, while the figure of Mercury seems to denote the howse of a 
mercliaiit.—El>. 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX 


405 



Atrium of the House of the Quaestor; from ‘ Pompeiaxia.’ 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































POMPEII. 


406 

off by rust and tbe decay of the wood, and were found lying 
beneath. The locks, handles, and other ornaments were 
made of bronze. When found, the bottom of these chests 
was formed merely of several parallel bars of iron, which of 
course supported a planking, now decayed. Through the 
interstices of one of them, marked 12, forty-five gold and 
five silver coins had fallen, and were found at the time of exca¬ 
vation, so as to afford a clue to the use of these remarkable 
chests.* The greater part of the contents however had been 
extracted in old times; evidently by some person who knew 
their value, and was at the labour of digging in search of 
their buried treasure. Owing, however, to some slight error 
in his measurements, he got into the adjoining room, 22, and 
greatly increased the difficulty of his task, by thus rendering 
it necessary to cut through the wall of the atrium, and to 
extract the money through a small hole in the chest. 

The atrium is beautifully painted in the same style as the 
vestibule, with arabesque designs upon red and yellow 
grounds. Upon the plinth are flowers, reptiles, and birds 
pecking at fruit. Above it are painted many excellent figures. 
We may notice among them Jupiter, seated on his throne, 
and crowned by Victory; Fortune holding a rudder, her 
usual emblem; Bacchus with the thyrsus, and beside him a 
little Faun standing on tip-toe, and endeavouring to catch 
some drops ■which fall from a bowl that the God of Wine 
holds reversed, while a panther, fawning like a dog, pulls at 
the end of his cloak.t The apartment has but one ala or 
wing, 14, round which there runs a dwarf wall or plinth, 15, 
which served as a seat. It is probable, from the position of 
the chests, that those who received or paid the public money 
were stationed here. 16. A large recess containing a door 
which leads into the great court of the piscina. Among the 
pictures in this part of the atrium were Ceres, Apollo sound¬ 
ing the lyre, Saturn with his scythe, and here and there 
landscapes containing small figures, not altogether dissimilar 
in style to those of Nicholas Poussin. Two of them represent 
scenes near the sea-shore, with hilly undulating ground, 

* See Pomp. Ant. Hist., t. ii. p. 214 (July 8th, 1828). 

t We may here say, ouce for all, that the visitor will now look in vain for 
many of these and other paintings described in the accounts of early exca¬ 
vations.—En. 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 40'/ 

verdant to the margin of the sea, with incidents aj)propriate 
to the scenery. In one is told the story of Perseus contend¬ 
ing with the kinsmen of Andromeda, who opposed his marriage 
with the princess after he had delivered her from the sea- 
monster. In the other, Jupiter is represented carrying oif 
Europa, and several beautiful Cupids appear in different 
parts of the picture. The whole atrium, exclusive of the 
recess, is about forty feet square, and the ojDen space in the 
centre is about seventeen feet in each of its dimensions. 

Various rooms of various uses surround the atrium, some 
lighted from the street by a window, as 17, 19, 20, others 
entirely dependent upon the atrium, and lighted imperfectly 
by a window or lattice j)laced above the door. 17 is conjec¬ 
tured to have been the apartment of the atriensis. It is deco¬ 
rated in the same style and with the same elegance as the 
atrium. The closet, 19, was probably a storeroom. In 20 
there are two small, but remarkably fine pictures; one of 
Diana descending from heaven, attracted by the beauty of 
Endymion, with two nymphs in the background; the other 
of Narcissus. There are other pictures of Bacchantes, flying 
figm'es, &c. The pavement is of opus Signinum. 21 and 22 
contain nothing worth notice except that in the latter there 
is a mosaic pavement. 23 is merely plastered with white 
stucco, in which there are two rows of small holes, apparently 
meant for brackets to support two tiers of shelves. This 
therefore is supposed to have been a storeroom, especially 
as bronze and glass vases were found in it. In 24 the same 
traces of shelves were found as in 23, and a quantity of pro¬ 
visions, such as nuts, lentils, grains, and figs : it was therefore 
another storeroom. The thresholds of both these apartments 
are of white marble, and in one of them the iron pivot upon 
which the door turned still remains. 25 appears to be a 
plinth, or basement, intended to receive something, but of 
what nature is uncertain. 

The tablinum, 26, is an apartment*of remarkable splendour. 
The pavement is of white mosaic, edged with a black border. 
The walls are of uncommon beauty. Each of them has in its 
centre a picture : that on the left-hand, as the visitor enters, 
represents the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, 
and Minerva interfering to restrain the latter : that on the 
right, Ulysses discovering Achilles among the females of the 


408 


POJIPEII. 


court of liycomedes. This picture has the appearance o:» 
being executed originally in shades of red, covered afterwards 
with transparent tints, through which the red ground is 
generally visible. Upon the walls are painted hangings of 
blue cloth embroidered with gold, with four groups of Fauns 
and Bacchantes worked upon them. The plinth is black, and 
ornamented with the usual variety of arabesque patterns, such 
as lions and centaurs fighting, and Cupids riding in chariots 
drawn by stags*and goats. In another part figures are repre¬ 
sented coming out of doors in a colonnade enriched with 
festoons of fruit and flowers. Not less worthy of notice is the 
frieze, along which is painted a narrow line of landscapes 
with figures, one of which is supposed to represent the return 
of Ulysses to Ithaca. It contains a sedent figure, with a 
peaked, Chinese-looking hat upon his head, who is offering a 
cup to another man in tattered garments, stretched on the 
ground and playing with a dog. This right-hand wall, which 
presents a surface about twenty feet square, adorned with 
almost every variety of painting known at Pompeii, is un¬ 
matched for beauty and brilliancy of effect. 

27. Fauces, or passage giving access to the garden when 
the tablinum was closed. 28. Narrow staircase, probably 
leading only to the roof, for the house, judging from the 
slightness of its walls, can have had no upper story. 29. 
Probably a bed chamber. It is painted with arabesques, and 
paved with opus Signinum as usual, and contains three pictures 
worth notice; one of Cephalus and Procris, another of Nar¬ 
cissus, and a third representing a nymph leading a child to 
Bacchus and Silenus, who initiate him in the use of wine. 
The room on the other side of the tablinum, 80, may probably 
have served for a winter triclinium. It is lighted by a large 
window opening on the garden portico, and is paved in black- 
and-white mosaic. The disposition of the paintings is re¬ 
markable. The plinth is black, relieved by flying Cupids, 
admirably executed. Albove it are architectural arabesques, 
containing figures of priests, with paterae and implements of 
sacrifice, between which there are alternately red and azure 
panels. The red panels rest upon a blue band and the blue 
panels on a red band, and the paintings on these bands are 
varied according to their colour. Upon the red are ferocious 
animals chasing their prey, or themselves pursued by dogs, 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 


409 


or throwing themselves into the water to quench their thirst; 
on the blue are whimsical aquatic monsters, such as a Triton, 
■with the body of a man and the tail of a lobster, who is 
driving a sea-horse surrounded by dolphins. Three pictures 
occupied the centres of the three red compartments, two of 
which are almost obliterated: the third represents Thetis 
dipping Achilles in the river Styx. In the blue compartments 
there still remains a beautiful female playing on the lyre, and 
a Nereid seated on the Triton’s back. She bears a shield, and 
may be meant for Thetis carrying the armour to Achilles. 
The upper parts of the walls are more lightly ornamented, 
and painted on white grounds. 



Through the tablinum we enter the peristyle, 31, if the 
term may be applied to a court like this, which has a colon¬ 
nade on one side only. The roof was supported by five Doric 
columns. We spare the reader the details of the paintings 
here, which are in the same style as those already described; 
but-two dramatic scenes are w rthy of notice, which have been 
represented in Part I., pp. 191, 201. There is also a Phaedra and 
Hippolytus of very good execution. 32. Puteal. 33. Garden, 
formerly enclosed by a wooden railing, as is proved by 
vertical channels cut in the pillars to the height of three feet 
six inches, to receive tbe uprights. It seems to have been 
laid out in long straight flower-beds. The wall opposite the 












410 


POMPEII. 


tabliniim is divided by engaged pillars, and the intermediate 
spaces filled with paintings representing trees, grass-plots, 
fishponds, and other accessories of a garden. Immediately 
opposite the vestibule is an altar, 35, raised before an asdicula, 
36, which, from the style of its ornaments, must have been 
dedicated to the worship of Bacchus. On the right of the 
garden is a walk, 34, covered by creeping plants trained over 
a trellis supported on stone blocks, which are still to be seen. 

At the other end of the portico is the entrance to a large 
chamber, 37, which from its size, situation, and elegance, 
may be supposed to have been occupied by the master of the 
house. Most of the subjects represented here bear some 
relation to the chase : there is one in better preservation 
than the rest, which may represent Meleager or Adonis 
returned from hunting. 38. Passage leading to 39, a kitchen, 
intended probably for the private service of the family, to 
judge from its unusual position in the most elegant and 
retired part of the house. On the right-hand is a sink, on 
the left a stair, opposite to which is the fireplace. Fragments 
of a picture exist, which seem to have represented the goddess 
Fortune; and there are also two tails of snakes, emblems of 
the tutelary genii, which, as we have stated in a former 
chapter, were commonly set up in kitchens as a protection 
against robbery or wanton insult. 40, 41. Offices. 42, 43. 
Anteroom and bedchamber, probiibly meant for the use of 
some upper servant. 

Beturning through the tablinum and atrium, we enter the 
most splendid apartment of the house, ealled the court of the 
piscina, from a reservoir of more than common dimensions. 
The colonnade, 44, is formed by eight columns, four on each 
side, with angular antas, and engaged columns at the corners. 
They are stuceoed and fluted, the lower part of the fluting 
filled up and painted red, as usual, to the height of four feet 
eight inches. The diameter at the base is one f(X>t eight 
inches; at the capital, one foot four inches ; the height of 
the shaft, nine feet eleven inches: the capitals are of stucco, 
and approximate to the Corinthian .order. The whole portico 
is raised upon a step above the interior court, 45, and the 
step is painted red. The area of this court was j^robably 
partly occupied by flowers, as earth was found here, having a 
small reservoir, 46, in the centre. The eastern end was 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX 


411 



Court of ttie I*iLcina of the House of Castor and Pollux; from ‘Pompc'ianA’ 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































POMPEII. 



412 

entirely occupied by a large piscina, 47, having in its centre 
a column, tbrough which the pipe of a fountain still passes. 
Of this court we give a view, taken, like the view of the 
atrium, from the second series of Sir W. Cell’s Pompeii. It 
is taken from within the exedra, or triclinium. On the antae 
in front were paintings of Perseus and Andromeda, and of 


Medea meditating the murder of her children, of which we 
have given engravings. On the other fronts of these antas 
are also paintings; one of a dwarf leading a monkey, engraved 
in Part I., p. 195; the other a picture of Hygeia. In different 
parts of the room are other paintings; one is a noble figure 


Perseus and Andromeda. 


















HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 413 

(.f Jupiter. Tlie rest of tlie walls is oceupied, as usual, with 
a variety of arabesque aud capricious ornaments, upon red, 
white, yellow, and green grounds. This, and the Corinthian 
atrium and the peristyle of the house of Meleager, to be de¬ 
scried presently, are the most beautiful apartments yet found 
in Pompeii. 



Medea uieditatiDg the Murder of her Children.' 

A noble exedra, or summer triclinium, 48, opens on the 
upper end of the colonnade. Formerly the pavement was 
incrusted with jirecious marbles, as appears from the frag¬ 
ments which have been found, of those scarce and beautiful 
kinds called rosso and giallo antico, African marble with 





























































































POMPEII. 


414 

red spots, and oriental alabaster ; but tbis liigh-prizcd orna¬ 
ment bas been removed, as is almost invariably tbe case, by 
tbe ancients tbemselves. Nearly tbe whole front was open 
to tbe court, and might be closed at pleasure by large folding 
doors, as the marble sockets in which they turned still show. 
A large window opens on the covered walk beside the garden. 
The contiguous rooms, 49 and 50, appear to be a bedchamber 
and anteroom. Two doors open from the triclinium upon a 
passage, 51, leading from the garden to the servants’ apart¬ 
ments at the other end of the house, in which there is a back¬ 
door, 52, leading into the lane, 53. 54. Communication with 
the offices. 55. Entrance to the offices from the Street of 
Mercury. 56. Tuscan atrium. The inferior finish of this 
portion of the house shows plainly that it was intended 
merely for domestic uses. Some persons have supposed it a 
hospitiiim. for the reception of guests. In this case six 
strangers might have been lodged in the apartments sur¬ 
rounding the atrium, which, with the exedra, would have been 
common to all. The walls are plainly stuccoed white without 
any painting; the floor, as usual, is of opus.Signinmi. 57. 
Impluviurn, executed in stone roughly chiselled. 58. Exedra, 
or hall, painted roughly with landscapes on a black ground. 
The pavement is opus Signinum bordered with a mosaic 
meander. 59. Kitchen, in which the hearth is distinguishable, 
and the usual domestic gods are painted above it. 60. Adjoin¬ 
ing offices. Above these and the adjoining rooms traces are 
to be seen of the floor of an upper story, and the doors of 
communication are still preserved in the walls. The larger 
apartments, peristyles, atria, &c., were of course much loftier 
than was necessary for the rooms of servants and offices, so 
that there might be two stories without the roof of this por¬ 
tion being higher than that of the other. The other rooms 
on this side of the house appear to have been appropriated to 
servants, or to have been used as storerooms, &c. Even 
here the universal taste for paintings is shown by patterns 
coarsely executed on red and yellow grounds. 61. Court 
from which the adjoining rooms were lighted. 62. Large 
room, the ceiling of which appears to have been supported by 
a central pier, 63. It communicates with the back lane by a 
broad doorway, large enough to admit a cart, and is conjec¬ 
tured to have been set apart for purposes of household traffic, 


HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 



415 






































416 


POMPEII. 


as tlie laying in of provisions, &c., for which its size and 
situation seem to adapt it. The other numerous ai)artments 
in this quarter of the house are not worth a minute descrip¬ 
tion, being mean and small, and apparently suited only to 
the occupation of slaves. 

Separated from the House of Castor and Pollux by a narrow 
street, is a house chiefly remarkable for containing pictures 
of no very decent description. In front it has a thermo- 
polium, or wine-shop; in an inner chamber, full of pictures 
totally unfit for representation or description, there are two 
of inoffensive character, which contain some curious details 
relative to domestic life. One of these represents a wine- 
cart, and shows the way of filling the amphor£e, or large 
earthen vessels in Avhich wine was kept. The clumsy trans¬ 
verse yoke by Avhich the horses are fastened to the pole 
is worth attention. Another method of yoking them, re¬ 
sembling the modern curricle-bar, is represented in the 



head-piece to this chapter. We liave also to point out the 
large skin, occupying the Avhole of the Avaggon, and supported 
by a framework of three hoops. These minutiae may of 
course be depended on as copied from the implements in use. 
The neck cf the skin is closed by a ligature, and the Avine 






















HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 


417 


is drawn off through the leg, which forms a, convenient 
spout. Two amphorae may be observed. They are pointed 
at the bottom, so that they might be stuck into the ground 
and preserved in an upright position without difficulty. 
Amphorae have been found several times thus arranged in the 



Pompeian cellars, especially in the suburban villa, and in the 
House of the Faun, where they may still be seen standing 
upright, in their original posture. 

The other picture represents a drinking scene. Four 

2 E 













POMPEII. 


418 

figures are seated round a tripod table, hardly liigher than 
the benches. The dress of two of the figures is remarkable 
for the hoods, which resemble the capotes worn by the 
Italian sailors and fishermen of the present day. They 
use horns instead of glasses. Above are different sorts of 
eatables hung upon a row of pegs. We may conclude, from 
the style of the figures and of the accommodations represented, 
that the company which usually frequented this house of 
entertainment was of a very low class. It is said, however, 
that excavations of later date have disclosed some interior 
apartments very superior in elegance and purity to those of 
which we have already spoken. Nearly opj^osite to this 
house several skeletons and articles in gold and silver, brass 
and earthenware, were found twelve feet above the ancient 
pavements. These must probably be the remains of some 
persons who were suffocated by mephitic vapours while 
searching for valuables among the ruins. 

Adjoining to the House of Castor and Pollux, and on the 
northern side of it, is the House of the Centaur, as it is 
commonly called upon the spot. This evidently consists of 
two houses thrown into one. There is only one door of 
communication between them. The consequence is that there 
are duplicates, as it were, of ail the apartments; and the 
mansion contains no less than two atria and three peristyles, 
of considerable size and splendour. 

This house, in appearance, character, and general plan, 
bears so strong a resemblance to the House of the Quaestor 
that it is unnecessary, and might be tedious, to give a plan of 
it, and go through a minute examination of the several rooms. 
Of the two divisions, the northern is the plainer and less 
handsome, containing the usual suite of vestibule, atrium, 
tablinum, and peristyle. The Tuscan atrium contains nothing 
remarkable. Two of the apartments which surround it have 
evidently been destined for bedchambers, and contain alcoves 
raised a few inches above the level of the floor, where the 
beds were placed. In one of them traces are still visible on 
the ground where heavy furniture has been drawn backwards 
and forwards. The walls are rusticated, and painted to 
resemble slabs of different marbles—a gaudy and tasteless 
practice, which we have elsewhere found occasion to mention. 
The tablinum was once painted, but little now remains of its 


HOUSE OF THE CENTAUR. 


419 

ancient decorations. Within it is a peristyle supported by 
eight columns. One of the angles has been strengthened by 
a substantial brick pier, erected probably after the earthquake, 
A.D. 63, which has left everywhere its traces, in the ruin 
w'hich it produced and in the subsequent restorations. 
Beyond is a triclinium, the most ornamented room in the 
house, but the pictures are of inferior quality. 

From this, which appears to have been devoted to the 
inferior members of the family, we descend, by three steps 
tlmough a doorway broken in the party wall, to the adjoining 
division, which evidently was at one time a separate house, 
and is as plainly proved, by its architectural superiority and 
the number of pictures and mosaics found in it, to have been 
occupied by a family of wealth and consideration. Upon 
entering by the above-mentioned doorway, the visitor finds 
himself in a Corinthian atrium, supported by sixteen columns 
of somewhat grotesque character, not clearly referable to any 
order, hut bearing some resemblance to the Doric. The 
apartment is much damaged: it was once richly painted with 
grotesques upon grounds of various colours. It communi¬ 
cates with the street by a vestibule, which forms a distinct 
entrance to this portion of the mansion. Communicating 
with this atrium there is another smaller peristyle on the 
right, which, in situation and disposition of the adjoining 
apartments, resembles that excavated many years before in 
the House of Sallust, and described under the title of the 
Gynaeceum. One of the chambers which open upon the atrium 
is remarkable for the beauty of its black-and-white mosaic 
pavement. Beside it there is a small chamber or closet, 
which has no other opening than a large window to the 
atrium, above a dwarf wall sixteen inches high, covered with 
a marble coping, in which the traces of an iron grating are 
clearly to be seen. There are also, on both sides of the 
aperture, the marks of locks or latches, from which we may 
infer that two portions of the grating might be opened or 
closed at pleasure. The only explanation which we can give 
of this strange apartment is to suppose that it was the cage 
of some wild beast; though the chief room of the house seems 
an odd place for such an inmate.* 


♦ Overleck considers it to have been a sort of storeroom.. B. i. S,. 305. 


POMPEII. 


420 

Communicating with this atrium is a tablinum, on the walls 
of which were painted two stories, one of Hercules, the other 
of Meleager, the one from which the former name of the 
house was derived. These have been removed to the National 
Museum. The latter represents the moment at which Me¬ 
leager presents to Atalanta the boar’s head, and his uncles 



are about to take it from her. Meleager sits in the middle 
of the picture, clothed in a short purple mantle ; his sword is 
suspended by a sash, and in his left hand are two javelins. 
His head is turned, as if listening to Atalanta, who is leaning 
on the back of the stone seat on which the hero reposes. At 
his feet is the head of an immense wild boar and his dogs. 





















HOUSE OF THE CENTAUR. 


421 

Beside him are his uncles. There is also in this apartment 
a black frieze, in which are Fauns and Bacchantes in various 
attitudes, the beauty of which excites a regret that they-are 
not in a higher state of preservation. The floor was mosaic, 
with pieces of difierent coloured marbles let into it. The 
two pilasters which flank the entrance to this apartment are 
remarkable for containing two little niches painted azure, and 
intended apparently to receive small statues or some other 
movable ornament. But the largest and richest apartment 
of this house is the triclinium, which lies beside the tablinum 
on the left, and is lighted by a large window opening upon 
the garden beyond. In the centre of the mosaic pavement is 
a circle three feet four inches in diameter, containing a noble 
lion surrounded by Cupids, who are binding him with garlands, 
while at one side nymphs or Bacchantes look on. It is now 
in a ruinous condition. The peristyle is small. One circum¬ 
stance relating to it is worth preserving, because it proves 
that these small courts were used as gardens : it is said that 
the remains of shrubs which had been planted here were 
found during the course of the excavation. This part of the 
house is completely ruined, for a range of subterranean 
chambers, used probably as cellars, extends beneath it, and 
the vaults having fallen in, great part of the garden and 
peristyle has gone along with them. The wall of the garden 
had been painted in the style called in a former chapter opus 
topiarium^ that is to say, with views of gardens ornamented 
with railings, fountains, birds, statues, &c. Above these are 
sea views, containing Nereids as large as life. One of the 
adjoining rooms is remarkable for a Doric cornice, supported 
by pilasters with Grecian capitals. Another, and a more 
beautiful example, has been discovered lately at the entrance 
of a house opposite to that which we are now describing. 
These confirm the theory which has been advanced, that the 
Pompeian architecture is originally of Grecian character, 
however varied by Eoman alterations, and especially by the 
restorations and improvements consequent upon the great 
earthquake, sixteen years before the inhumation of the city. 

The third house which we have mentioned, that of Meleager, 
or the Nereids, was uncovered between October, 1830, and 
May, 1831, and has not, as we believe, been before described, 
except in the Neapolitan government publication, called the 


POMPEII. 


422 

Miiseo Borbonico, from which the plan and details here given 
are extracted. It adjoins the House of the Centaur, and is 
separated by one dwelling from the city walls, from which 
its vestibule is only some sixty paces distant. Although not 
one of the largest, it is one of the handsomest and most 


t/rir/e. 



Ground-plan of the House of the Nereids, or Meleager. 

charming in Pompeii. The front is covered with a plain white 
stucco, imitating stone, and resting on a plinth coloured to 
resemble grey marble, and surmounted by a red fillet. Even 
in the vestibule we see promise of the abundance of ornament 




































HOUSE OF MELEAGER. 


423 


which the mansion contains. The walls are divided into 
three compartments : the lower, forming the plinth, is black; 
the centre, red; the upper, white. We may take this 
opportunity to point out a circumstance which probably has 
already caught the reader’s attention, that in the Pompeian 
houses the walls are very frequently divided into two or 
more horizontal bands or compartments of different colours; 
and that then the darkest colours are almost always placed 
lewdest, the shades becoming lighter as they approach the 
ceiling. This difference of colour might j^erhaps be intended 
to give the effect of greater height and airiness, and the 
painter further took advantage of it to produce greater variety 
in his designs. Often the several tiers of colour are charged 
with arabesques in distinct styles, as indeed in this vestibule, 
where the black plinth is ornamented with Caryatides bearing 
javelins, from which depend festoons of fruit and flowers; 
the red compartment is relieved with architectural arabesques, 
intermixed with Bacchantes; and in the white the painter 
has again introduced Caryatides, together with priestesses 
and architectural designs. 

1. Vestibule. 2. Tuscan atrium, paved with opus Sigmnum, 
intermixed with a more than usual quantity of broken marble. 
3. Impluvium. 4. Marble trough. 5, 6. Fountain and 
marble table, with two hollows, 7, under it, lined with 
marble, and with marble covers. These probably were 
meant for wine coolers, and were continually supplied with 
fresh water from the adjoining fountain, which consists of 
a rectangular plinth, inlaid with various marbles, among 
which are dark green serpentine, with lighter spots, and rosso 
and giallo antico. A small bronze mask was let into the 
upper part, through which a streamlet spouted into the 
trough, 4, and thence trickled over into the impluvium. The 
style of painting is similar to that of the vestibule. A dark 
red plinth surrounds the room, on which Nereids are painted, 
reposing on sea-lions and other marine monsters; and from 
this style of ornament, which is prevalent throughout the 
whole, the house has received one of its names. Above are 
architectural arabesques on a black ground—a rare exception 
to the rule above laid down as to the order in which colours 
succeed each other. There were several pictures in different 
parts of the room—Venus, standing by Vulcan, while he 


424 


POMPEII. 


forges armour for .<Eneas; Dasdalus and Pasipliae ; Paris 
and Helen, and some other figures. 



Marble Vase, Fountain, and Marble Table in the Atrium of the House of the Nereids. 

The tahlinum, 8, is paved with opus Sigmnum, enriched 
with mosaic bands of different patterns. The walls are 
almost covered with pictures, above which there is a rich 
frieze, in which are intermingled stucco bas-reliefs and 
pictures, as in the celebrated baths of Titus at Eome. This 
is the only example of this kind of decoration yet found in 
Pompeii; and a conjecture has been made that the decoration 
of this room was not much anterior to the destruction of the 
city, since it much resembles that style of ornament which 
prevailed among the Eomans about the time of Vespasian 
and Titus. Here we find a red plinth, with Nereids, like 
those in the atrium; above the jdinth, a yellow ground with 
flying figures, and a picture in the centre of each walk* The 
subject of one is Isis, of another. Mars and Venus, the third 
is entirely obliterated. Above this yellow ground is the 
stuccoed frieze. A small recess, 9, may perhaps have been 
the lararium. The plan of this house exhibits a deviation 
from the ordinary practice, inasmuch as the tablinum dees 


* Now vanished. 



HOUSE OF MELEAGER. 


425 

not communicate with the peristyle, nor indeed with any 
apartment except the atrium. 

10. Large room, which seems to have been a storeroom, 
containing a staircase, 11. The small chamber, 12, is 
remarkable for the beauty of its arabesques, and contained a 
very pretty picture of Cupid leading Jupiter, in the form of 
an eagle, to Ganymede, who sleeps profoundly, in an elegant 
attitude of repose. 13 and 14 are ornamented in the same 
style, and with the same elegance. These three rooms were 
probably bedchambers; they were lighted from the atrium 
by windows placed above the doors. The room, 14, had 
also a window, 15, looking into the spacious triclinium, 16. 
This room is chiefly remarkable for three vertical stripes in 
the wall, roughly plastered over, corresponding with three 
holes in the pavement; from which appearances it is inferred 
that the house had been severely shaken in the great earth¬ 
quake, and that beams, now perished, had been erected in 
these places to support the superincumbent weight, and 
relieve the wall. 

U'he atrium communicates with the peristyle, 18, by the 
door, 17. This arrangement is remarkable as having the 
peristyle at the side, instead of the back of the atrium, as 
usual. Owing to the breadth of the aperture, and for the 
convenience of being able to open or close a part of it, the 
door was divided into four leaves, which folded back like a 
window-shutter. This is plain from the holes sunk in the 
marble threshold. This peristyle is one of the most magni¬ 
ficent and largest apartments yet found in Pompeii. The 
portico is formed of twenty-four columns, built of bricks and 
small stones, and coated with stucco. The lower portion of 
them, as usual, is left unfluted, and is painted red; the upper 
portion is white. In point of architecture they are irregular, 
but aj)proximate to the Doric order. Below the abacus is 
an oval moulding, and under the latter, leaves, on a blue 
ground. Iron rings are let into the base of each column. 
To these were attached cords, by means of which an awning 
could be spread over the inqfluvium, and the bright glare of 
day softened at pleasure. We are led to this conclusion by 
the knowledge that such veils were in common use, as has 
been formerly mentioned, and by a discovery made in a 
house recently excavated at Herculaneum, where rings like 


POMPEII. 


426 

these were found, together with bars of iron extended along 
the architrave, between the intercolumniations, which could 
scarcely have been put to any other purpose than to support 
a covering. The impluvium, 19, is surrounded by a channel 
of stone, to collect the rain-water and throw it into the 
reservoir, 24. It was planted with shrubs and flowers, the 
roots of which were found. Between the columns were 
remains of a wooden fence. 

The reservoir, 20, is edged with a w'hite marble coping 
and lined within with stucco, painted with a deep azure, in 
vivid preservation, resembling cobalt blue. It was fed with 
a two-fold supply, from a column, 21, in the centre, perforated 
for a pipe and bronze cock, by which the water could be 
stopped at pleasure; and from another fountain, 22, which 
ran down six little steps, forming a diminutive cascade before 
it reached the reservoir, and gratifying the senses with the 
sight and sound of falling water, so especially delightful in a 
sultry climate. The square basin, 23, contiguous to the 
reservoir, and communicating with it, may have served to 
preserve the fish, which were probably kept here when it 
became necessary to empty the larger cistern ; or else for the 
more convenient supply of water to the garden, without 
damaging the marble border. The mouth of a third cistern, 
to receive the rain-water, is seen at 24. 25. Puteal, with 

some remains of a wooden cover. 26. Large earthen pot, 
containing lime, the presence of which furnishes another 
reason for supposing that the house was in course of repair 
at the time of the eruption. 

The walls are painted in the same style with those already 
described. It is remarkable that we again find upon a red 
plinth the same Nereids accompanied by sea monsters: the 
owner must surely have had some special reason for his 
devotion to these marine deities. Of the numerous pictures 
which once decorated this peristyle some are still visible. 

The large apartment, 27, is unique. It will be recollected 
that according to the descriptions of Vitruvius, the Egyptian 
oecus dilfers from the Corinthian,^inasmuch as the roof of the 
latter is supported by one tier of pillars, and all the room is 
of the same height; while the former has a smaller range of 
pillars placed above and upon the main range, and is sur¬ 
rounded with a gallery level with the capitals of the lower 


HOUSE OF MELEAGER. 


427 


tier, something like a Gothic church, where the arcades of 
the nave may represent the lower, the clerestory the upper 
tier of pillars. We seem to have an example of this method 
of construction here; but the building does not accurately 
agree with any of the three kinds of ceci described by 
Vitruvius. The front of the apartment, to the peristyle, is 
ornamented by four columns of considerably larger diameter 
than those in the interior, which evidently reached, in a 
single order, to the height of the two orders which we 
suppose to have existed within. There is a staircase, 44, at 
the back of the room, which may have led to the gallery of 
which we have spoken. The capitals bear some resemblance 



Capital from House of the Nereids. 


to the Corinthian order. The architraves are not straight, 
as in pure Greek and Eoman architecture, but are formed by 
a small segment of a circle, upon which the floor of the 
supposed gallery must have rested. This innovation was a 
natural consequence of adopting arasostyle intercoluraniations. 
From it, it was a natural step to support arches avowedly on 
pillars, and abandon straight entablatures— an architectural 
abuse, as it is termed by critics, which arose among the 
Romans about the time of Titus, and was much followed by 




























428 


POMPEII. 


the Byzantines and Goths. The columns and walls of this 
hall are tinted yellow, and even the pictures are monochrome, 
as it is termed, or painted in one colour, that colour being 
yellow. This probably was an imitation of that extravagance 
which made the wealthier Eomans cover their walls entirely 
with gilding. Two of the pictures remain: Theseus con¬ 
versing with Ariadne after having killed the Minotaur; and, 
as it should seem, Tiresias, after his transformation into a 
woman. The floor is mosaic, white bordered with black 
patterns. Of the two exedraB which flank this noble apart¬ 
ment, 28 is much more plainly decorated than the rest of the 
house. The cornice is richly wrought in stucco, the rest is 
a plain white ground; and as it cannot be supposed that this 
arrangement was intended to be permanent, in the midst of 
so much splendour, we have a fresh reason for supposing that 
the eruption of Vesuvius interrupted the restoration of this 
house. We may also infer, that as the plaster was all laid on 
at once, it was intended to receive encaustic, or, at all events, 
not fresco paintings. The exedra, 29, is noble in its pro¬ 
portions, and richly ornamented in the prevailing style. 

The great triclinium, 30, is of magnificent dimensions. It 
has two doors, one to the peristyle, the other to a passage, 34, 
which traverses the whole breadth of the house. Here again 
the paintings and the pavement are in the same style which 
we have described so often in this house, except that there 
are no Nereids. There is no visible provision for lighting 
this room, and the day must have been admitted through the 
roof, or through windows in the upper part of the walls, 
which, to correspond with the usual lofty proportions of 
Pompeian rooms, must have been of extraordinary height. 
There is one well-preserved picture of the Judgment of 
Paris. 31. Antechamber. 32. Sleeping-room, elegantly 
painted. 33. Probably the porter’s lodge, having two doors, 
one to the atrium, the other to the peristyle, and two 
windows, one high and narrow, to the street, the other low 
and spacious, to the peristyle j so that this room commanded 
a view of both the chief apartments of resort. 

The rest of the house is devoted to humbler purposes and 
meaner occupiers. The passage, 34, leads from the oldces, 
and communicates with the atrium, the peristyle, and the 
triclinium. It terminates in a back-door, 49. 35, 36. 


( 



Eleviition of part of the Street of Tomhs.— See p. 513 to p. 524 










































































































































































430 


POMPEII. 


Chamber, and recess for the bed. 37. Inclined plane, 
terminating in three steps—a very common substitute for a 
staircase, as in the crypto-j)ortico of Eumachia. 38, 39, 40, 
41. Ergastulum, or lodging of the slaves, as is conjectured 
from the retired situation, the total absence of ornament, and 
the little light which could have been received by those 
rooms. 42. A chamber of a better order, which from its 
neighbourhood to the kitchen was probably occupied by some 
head servant. 43. Kitchen, open to the passage. Above the 
hearth is painted a serpent, twined round a tripod, and two 
camilli, or servants of the priest, about to assist at a sacrifice. 
45. Sink, &c. 46, 47, 48. Mean rooms, probably occupied 
by servants. We give a section of the house on p. 429, drawn 
from A to B on the plan.* 

* The section below refers to the tombs. 


J 


431 



SURVEY OF THE REMAINDER OF THE CITY.—INSCRIPTIONS AND 
GRAFFITI.—CASTS OF BODIES. 

Proceeding southward along the Street of Mercury, we pass 
under the triumphal arch of Nero, and crossing the transverse 
street which leads towards the Gate of Nola, enter the Street 
of the Forum, a continuation of the Street of Mercury, leading 
straight to the triumphal arch at the north end of the Forum, 
and bounding the island of the baths on the eastern side. 
Tliis street is one of the most spacious in Pompeii, being 
twenty-two feet wide and about two hundred feet long. Wo 
have given, in the first part of this work, a long catalogue of 
articles found here in the course of excavation. One of the 
houses about the centre of the street, nearly opposite the 
entrance to the Thermae, is of more consequence than the 
rest, and has been named the House of Bacchus, from a large 
painting of that god on a door opjiosite to the entry. Channels 
for the introduction of water were found in the atrium, which 
has been surrounded by a small trough, formed to contain 
flowers, the outer side of which is painted blue, to imitate 
water, with boats floating upon it. The wall behind this is 


















432 


POMPEII. 


painted witli pillars, between wbicb are balustrades of various 
forms. Cranes and other birds perch ujjon these, and there 
is a background of reeds and other vegetables, above which 



the sky is visible. The greater portion of the eastern side of 
the street is occupied by a row of shops with a portico in 
front of them. It is flanked on either side by footpaths, and 
must have presented a noble aj)pearance "when terminated by 
triumphal arches at either end, and overlooked by the splendid 



















SURVEY OF THE REMAINDER OP THE CITY. 433 

Temple of Jupiter and that of Fortune elevated on its lofty 
basis. It is to be noticed that the last-named edifice does 
not stand symmetrically either with the Street of the Forum 
or with the Street of the Baths running past the House of 
Pansa. “The portico,” we quote again from Gell, “is 
turned a little towards the Forum, and the front of the 
temple is so contrived that a part of it might be seen also 
from the other street. It is highly probable that these 
circumstances are the result of design rather than of chance 
The Greeks seem to have preferred the view of a magnificent 
building from a corner, and there is scarcely a right-angled 
] Ian to be found either in ancient or modern Italy.”* In 
the Street of the Forum has been established a temporary 
museum of articles found in Pompeii. Adjoining it is a 
library containing all the best works that have been written 
on the city. 

The street running westward between tho baths and the 
Forum presents nothing remarkable, except that in it are the 
signs of the milk-shop and school of gladiators above described. 
There is also an altar, probably dedicated to Jupit^^r, placed 
against the wall of a house ; above it is a bas-relief in stucco, 
with an eagle in the tympanum. Eastward of the Forum 
this street assumes the name of the Street of Dried Fruits, 
from an inscription showing that dried fruits were sold in it; 
and, indeed, a considerable quantity of figs, raisins, chesnuts, 
plums, hempseed, and similar articles were found. It is now 
however usually called the Street of the Augustals. Near 
the point at which this street is intersected by that of 
Eumachia, running at the back of the east side of the Forum, 
there is a remarkably graceful painting of a youthful Bacchus 
pressing the juice of the grape into a vase placed upon a 
pillar, at the foot of which is a rampant animal expecting the 
liquor, apparently meant for a tiger or panther, but of very 
diminutive size. This picture is one foot five inches high 
and one foot two inches wide. It probably served for the 
sign of a wine-merchant. Corresponding v/ith it, on the 
other side of the shop, is a painting of Mercury, to render 
that knavish god propitious to the owner’s trade. 

We will now proceed to the Street of Abundance, or of the 


2 F 


Pompeiana, Second Series, vol. i. p. 70. 


POMPEII. 


134 



iStoue Doorway in the Street of the Silversmiths. 



























































































































HOUSE OF THE WILD BOAR. 435 

Merchants, formerly called the Street of the Silversmiths. 
This IS about twenty-eight feet wide, and bordered on each 
Side by footpaths about six feet wide, which are described as 
made in several places of a hard plaster, probably analogous 
to opus Signinum. At the end next the Forum it is blocked 
up by two steps, which deny access to wheel carriages, and is 
in other parts so much encumbered by large stepping-stones 
that the passage of such vehicles, if not prohibited, must 
have been difficult and inconvenient. 

We may here take notice of a peculiarity in this street. It 
slopes with a very gentle descent away from the Forum, and 
the courses of masonry, instead of being laid horizontally, 
run parallel to the slope of the ground, a unique'instance, as 
we believe, of such a construction. We give a view of a 
handsome and (which is rare in Pompeii) a perfect doorway 
of stone, copied from the second series of Sir W. Gell’s 
Pompeii.* Above it part of a window still remains. In 
front the reader will observe the stepping-stones of which we 
have spoken. On the right-hand of the vestibule a. monkey 
is painted playing on the double pipe, as if he were the 
guardian of the entry. The doors of several shops in this 
street have left perfect impressions on the volcanic deposit, 
by which it appears that the planks of which they were 
made lapped one over the other, like the planks of a boat. 

Although the houses that line this street have’now been 
cleared, there still remains a large unexcavated space on its 
southern side. The only house requiring notice is that 
called the Casa del Cinghiale, or House of the Wild Boar, a 
little way down on the right-hand side in going from the 
Forum. Its name is derived from the mosaic pavement of 
the prothyrum, representing a boar attacked by two dogs. 
The house is remarkable for its well-preserved peristyle of 
fourteen Ionic columns, with their capitals. On the right is 
a brick staircase leading to a large garden. The atrium is 
bordered with a mosaic representing the walls of a city with 
towers and battlements, supposed by some to be the walls of 
Pompeii. 

Just beyond this house is a small street or lane, turning 
down to the right, called the Vicolo dei Dodici Dei, from a 


* The visitor will now look tor it in vain. 


POMPEII. 


436 

painting on the outside wall of the corner house, in the 
manner of a frieze, representing the twelve greater divinities. 
Below is the usual painting 'of serpents. At the corner of 
the quadrivium is the apothecary’s shop, in which was a 
large collection of surgical instruments, mortars, drugs, and 
pills. The house is not otherwise remarkable. 

Of the early excavations at the southern extremity of the 
town few records are preserved. In the Quarter of the 
Theatres, besides the public buildings, which have been fully 



described, there are but two houses of any interest. These 
occupy the space between the Temple of ^Esculapius and the 
small theatre. The easternmost of them is one of the most 
interesting yet discovered in Pompeii, not for the beauty or 
curiosity of the building itself, but for its contents, which 








HOUSE OF THE SCULPTOR—OF JOSEPH II. 437 

prove it to have been the abode of a sculptor. Here were 
found statues, some half finished, others just begun,’ with 
blocks of marble, and all the tools required by the artist. 
Among these were thirty-two mallets, many compasses, 
curved and straight, a great quantity of chisels, three or 
four levers, jacks for raising blocks, saws, &c., &g. The 
house has the usual arrangement of atrium, tablinum, and 
peristyle, but; owing to the inclination of the ground, the 
l^eristyle is.,on a higher level than the public part of the 
house, and communicates with it by a flight of steps. A 
large reservoir for water extended under the peristyle, which 
was in good preservation when first found, but has been 
much injured by the failure of the vault beneath. 

Eeturning by the southernmost of the two roads which lead 
to the Forum, we fiind, beside the wall of the triangular Forum 
as it is called, one of the most remarkable houses in Pompeii, 
if not for its size, at least for its construction. The excava¬ 
tions here made were begun in April, 1769, in the presence 
of the Emperor Joseph II., after whom this house has been 
named; but after curiosity was satisfied, they were filled 
up again with rubbish, as was then usual, and vines and 
poplars covered them almost entirely at the time when 
Mazois examined the place, insomuch that the underground 
stories were all that he could personally observe. The 
emperor was accompanied in his visit by his celebrated 
minister. Count Kaunitz, the king and queen of Naples, Sir 
William Hamilton, the English ambassador at Naples, and 
one or two distinguished antiquaries. This w^as one of the 
first private dwellings excavated at Pompeii. It appears to 
have been a mansion of considerable magnificence, and, from 
its elevated position, must have commanded a fine view over 
the Bay of Naples towards Sorrento. The “ find ” was so 
good on the occasion of the emperor’s visit, as to excite his 
suspicion of some deceit. The numerous articles turned up 
afforded Sir W. Hamilton an opportunity to dis^flay his 
antiquarian knowledge. Joseph appears to have been rather 
disgusted on hearing that only thirty men were employed 
)n the excavations, and insisted that three thousand were 
necessary.* We give a plan of the three stories in one. 


Hist. Pomp. Antiq.f t. i. p. 228, seq. 


i38 


POMPEII, 



Ground-plan of the House of Joseph II. 





















































HOUSE OF JOSEPH II. 


439 


1. Protliyrum. 2. Several rooms surrounding the atrium. 
3. Probably a shop. 4. Tuscan atrium. 5. Impluvium. 
6. Alas. 7. Tablinum. 8. Fauces. 9. Antechamber to 10, 
the staircase which communicates with the lower stories 
situated under the terrace. 11. This portion of the house 
had the arrangement and the magnificence of a private basilica. 
It may probably be considered as a specimen of the Corinthian 
(ecus, which Vitruvius describes as containing a single order 
of columns supporting an entablature and vaulted roof. 12. 
Eooms for different pses. All this suite of apartments was 
on a level with the street, and seems to have been the public 
part of the house. The effect produced upon the visitor of 
this princely mansion must have been very striking, when, at 
first entrance, he saw through the long perspective of the 
atrium and this noble hall one of the most beautiful land¬ 
scapes which the world can afford; for the back part of this 
liouse is situated on a declivity which anciently sloped down 
towards the sea, and commanded an uninterrupted view over 
the bay, towards Stabiae. 13, 14. Terraces at different 
elevations. Beneath the terrace attached to the upper floor 
there was a lower story containing several rooms, which pro¬ 
bably were those chiefly devoted to domestic use. One of 
these was a triclinium, as is indicated by a little oven or 
stove in one corner, evidently intended for the service of the 
table. There was also a handsome suite of three rooms, well 
adapted for the assembling the family or the reception of 
friends, commanding that delightful view which marks out 
the brow of this hill as the most enviable situation in the 
whole town. A second terrace, 14, extends in front of these 
rooms, below which terrace there is yet a suite of baths. The 
approach to them is by a staircase, terminated by an inclined 
plane. We find the usual apparatus of a furnace-room,* 
apedyterium, tepidarium, and caldarium, or sudatorium, but 
little remains which can illustrate the subject'of private batlis. 
The most remarkable part of them is the sudatorium, which 
in its plan resembles the frigidarium of the Thermae, being 
a circular room with four niches, serving as seats, hollowed 
out in the wall. The vault is conical, terminating in a long 
tube which is carried up to the terrace floor, and there ter¬ 
minated by a movable stone plug, serving as a ventilator, to 
give free exit at pleasure to the heated air and vaiiour. These 


440 


POMPEII. 


curious baths were covered in again in part by the rubbish 
thrown out from the excavations of the triangular Forum. It 
was then remarked that the subterranean apartments, in 
which there was formerly no trace whatever of mephitic 
vapour, became foul after they were encumbered wdth lapilli, 
as the small volcanic substances are called w'ith which 
Pompeii is covered. The subterranean vaults of the amphi¬ 
theatre were also so impregnated with unwholesome gas 
before they were cleared, that Mazois, while examining them, 
encountered a heavy whitish vapour, wdiich rose slowly, and 
atfected his respiration so much that he was compelled to 
make a hasty retreat before it reached the level of his mouth. 
It would seem from these observations, that the mephitic air 
so common in the volcanic district of Naples resides princi¬ 
pally in the beds of ashes and scoriae, and is disengaged by 
the action of heat and moisture. A skeleton was discovered 
in the furnace-room of these baths. 

Eeturning westward towards the Forum, we pass by other 
houses of the same character, consisting of two or three 
stories, half built, half excavated, on the side of the hill; but 
they have not been described with minuteness enough to 
furnish us with anything worth narrating. On the right 
hand is the house already described under the name of Casa 
Carolina. We enter the Forum at its south-eastern angle. 
The south-western corner of the town, between the Forum 
and the declivity of the hill, has been but partially excavated; 
and the only houses worthy of notice are two which were 
excavated by General Championet, while in command of the 
French troops in occupation of Naples. They lie contiguous 
to one another, and close to the basilica. Without being 
large, they impress us, by the elegance of their decoration, 
^with the idea that they belonged to wealthy and cultivated 
persons. One of them consists of a prothyrum, Tuscan atrimn, 
peristyle, and the usual apartments upon a small scale, and is 
scarcely worth a minute description : the other is more 
remarkable, though not larger. 

A prothyrum leads from the narrow street which runs be¬ 
side the basilica into a tetrastyle atrium. The columns have 
evidently been composed of old materials worked up again, 
and stuccoed over to make a fair show. At the foot of one 
where this coating is broken away, part of the fluted shaft of 


HOUSES OF CHAMPIONET. 


441 

a former column is to be seen surmounted by brickwork, and 
the upper parts of the others are composed of alternate 
courses of brick and stone. In the centre is a marble im- 
pluvium with a well-hole; the edges of the impluviiim are 
surrounded by mosaic of different patterns. The lower part 
of the columns has been painted, as usual, of some dark colour. 
Around this apartment a triclinium, hall, and other rooms 
are disposed. An open tablinum intervened between the 
atriuui and the peristyle, which enclosed a diminutive xystus, 
or garden. The most remarkable thing in it is, that apertures 



Tetrastyle Atrium of a House excavated by Gen. Championet. 


are cut in the basement or j)luteum which supported the 
pillars of the peristyle, to give light to a subterranean set of 
ajiartments, accessible either from the peristyle by a staircase, 
or from the street by a long sloping j^assage. A chamber 
which looks upon the j)eristyle is remarkable for the elegance 
of its decorations. Around the lower parts of the walls there 
runs a broad skirting of a deep red, relieved by paintings of 
flowers, and minute borders and ornameuts. 'I’he upper part 
is of a brilliant celestial blue, divided into compartments by 











442 


POMPEII. 


broad borders and arabesques, in the centre of which com¬ 
partments are medallions containing figures of elegant design 
and execution. Flying Cupids, with peacocks, doves, and 
other animals, appear to be the favourite subjects. 

We have now surveyed, besides the temples and public 
buildings, all that part of the city lying between the Gate of 
Herculaneum and adjacent wall on the north, the Street of 
the Baths and Street of Fortune on the south, the boundary 
of the city on the west, and the islands containing the House 
of the Faun and the House of the Labyrinth on the east. We 
have also taken a view of the Street of the Forum and that of 
Abundance, together with the houses lying to the southward 
and westward of the latter. Before proceeding to describe 
the rest of the city, so far as it has been excavated, it may 
be as well to lay down a few general landmarks, 'which will 
serve to make the description more readily understood. 

In continuation of the Street of the Baths and that of 
Fortune, a long street, called the Street of Nola, runs in an 
easterly direction to the gate of the same name. The houses 
that line this street have been partially excavated, but as 
they did not promise much that would reward research, the 
excavation of them was abandoned. 

The line of streets just described, intersecting the city 
from west to east, is cut near its centre by another long 
street running frcm the Gate of Vesuvius on the north to 
the Gate of Stabia3 on the south, a little beyond the theatres 
and the barracks of the gladiators. This street, which, so far 
as it is cleared, is called the Street of Stabile, bounds the 
excavations to the east, though some of the houses lining its 
eastern side, and among them one or two remarkable ones, 
have been cleared. But on its western side are some of the 
most recent excavations, which we will now proceed to 
describe. 

The Street of Fortune on the north, that of the Augustals on 
the south, that of the Forum on the west, and that of Stabile 
on the east, form a large isolated district, or insula, inter¬ 
sected, however, by one or two minor streets, as the Vico 
Storto, a narrow crooked lane running north and south, and 
another small street leading from the middle of the Vico 
Storto to the Street of Stabife. 

On the northern side of the island just defined, and east- 


HOUSE OF ARIADNE. 


443 


ward of the Temple of Fortune, lie three noticeable houses, 
namely, the House of the Black Walls, the House of the 
Figured Capitals, and the House of the Grand Duke; but 
they do not offer such striking peculiarities as to require any 
detailed description here. The next house to the east of 
these, known as the House of the Coloured Capitals, or of 
Ariadne, is of considerable size and elegance. It derives 
its first name from the columns of the peristyle, the capitals 
of which were painted in bright colours; the other name is 
taken from a picture in a room next to the tablinum, repre¬ 
senting the abandonment of Ariadne. The arrangement of 
this house is singular. It has two entrances, one in the 
Street of Fortune, the other in the Street of the Augustals ; so 
that on whichever side the visitor enters, he has before him 
the usual suite of rooms of a Pompeian house, namely, an 
atrium terminated by a tablinum, and a peristyle beyond. 

The entrance from the Street of Fortune leads into a 
magnificent Corinthian atrium, with twenty-four columns of 
the Tuscan order on two of which may still be seen a vestige 
of the entablature. The atrium is upwards of eighty feet 
long and forty-three broad. The intercolumniations could be 
closed with curtains, as was also the case in the House of 
the Faun. The area, besides a small compluvium, has in the 
corner a curious design, intended perhaps for a flow^er-bed, 
consisting of bricks disposed so as to form four concentric 
circles within three rectangles. The apartments surround¬ 
ing the atrium are small and undecorated, except the wing 
(there is only one), the lintel of which is supported by two 
columns. Before it is a marble puteal, the sides much worn 
with the cord. In a room on the left of the tablinum is the 
picture of Ariadne abandoned. 

The peristyle was supported by sixteen Ionic columns, the 
lower third of which is painted yellow. The capitals, as 
we have said, were brilliantly coloured. In the centre is a 
large quadrangular basin, sixteen feet long by about six broad, 
and three feet three inches deej). In the middle of it is a 
hollow column which threw up a jet d'eau. The peristyle 
had two puteals. The chief paintings with which its Avails 
were adorned have been carried to the Museum. The second 
chamber on the right, after entering from the tablinum, has 
paintings of the Battles of the Storks and Pigmies. In a 


444 


POMPEII. 


sort of wing on tlie same side were depicted Venus and 
Adonis, and a love mercliant, or man selling little Cupids. 
On the floor of the room next to it is a fine and well pre¬ 
served mosaic of flsh. At the bottom of the peristyle, instead 
of the usual exedra, is another tablinum, belonging to the 
second atrium beyond. An apartment on the left, entered 
from the corridor, or fauces, has pictures of Ganymede feed¬ 
ing the eagle of Jove, the Triumph of Galatea, the Dioscuri, 
and Perseus shewing to Andromeda the head of Medusa, 
with several female figures, architecture, &c., above. Only the 
second and third of these pictures now remain in situ, and 
are in a tolerable state of preservation. In the middle of 
the left side of the peristyle is a large apartment, intended 
apparently to supply the place of the missing exedra. The 
bottom of it forms a hemicycle, with a niche for a statue. 
Among the pictures which decorated it may be discerned a 
Sacrifice, Leda and the Swan, a priestess receiving an offer 
ing, Apollo playing on the lyre before a woman and a young 
man armed with a sword. 

Passing the tablinum, we enter the second, or Tuscan, 
atrium. It is in a ruinous state. One of its wings has a 
lararium, and a well-preserved picture of Apollo and Daphne. 
The prothyrum, forming the entrance to the Street of the 
Augustals, has a shop on either side, one of which forms the 
angle of the Vico Storto. 

The house at the. angle of the Vico Storto and Street of 
Fortune has obtained the name of Casa della Caccia, from a 
great painting on the wall of the peristyle representing a 
combat with wild beasts in the amphitheatre. The space 
between the Vico Storto and the Street of StabisB remains 
for the most part unexcavated. 

Passing on to the insula bounded on the north by the 
Street of Holconius, on the south by the Street of Isis, on 
the west by the Street of the Theatres, and on the east by 
that of Stabile, we find two remarkable houses excavated 
within the last few years. That at the northern corner of 
the Street of the Theatres, numbered 4 on the entrance, 
is sometimes called the House of Holconius. It was exca¬ 
vated in 1861. The interior is represented in the annexed 
engraving. The two shops which precede it, numbered 2 
and 3, seem to have been the property of the master of the 


HOUSE OF HOLCONIUS. 


445 

house, and communicate with each other. A third shop, 
numbered 1, at the angle of the street, ajjpears to have been 
occupied by a dyer, and is called Taberna Offectoris.* On 



the front of the house were some inscriptions for electioneer¬ 
ing purposes. 

Fiorelli, Giornale degli Scavi, No. 1, p. 11. 






























POMPEII. 


446 

The pilasters on either side of the main entrance are 
painted red to about the height of a man, beyond which 
they are of white plaster. On entering the prothyrum may 
be observed a large hole in the wall, destined for the recep¬ 
tion of the repagulum, or strong wooden bar with which the 
door was secured. The door appears, from the places for bolts 
on the threshold, to have been composed of two pieces (bifora). 
The walls of the prothyrum are painted black, with a red 
podium, divided into three compartments by green and 
yellow lines, in the middle of which are an aquatic bii'd, 
perhaps an ibis, a swan with spread wings, and an ornament 
that cannot be made out. Towards the top the walls are 
painted with fantastic pieces of architecture on a white 
ground; amidst which, on one side, is a nymph descending 
apparently from heaven. She has a golden-coloured vest, on 
her shoulders is a veil agitated by the breeze, and she bears 
in her hand a large dish tilled with fruits and herbs. On the 
other side was a similar figure, playing on the lyre, with a 
sky-blue vest and rose-coloured veil that fluttered about her. 
The remaining architectural paintings contained little winged 
Cupids, one holding a cornucopia, another a drum, and two 
with baskets of fruit and flowers. These were the good 
geniuses, which, by being depicted at the entrance of a house, 
repelled all evil influences and rendered it a joyful abode.* 
The pavement of the Tuscan atrium is variegated with 
small pieces of white marble placed in rows. The implu- 
vium in the middle appears to have been under repair, as it 
is stripped of its marble lining. The walls of the atrium are 
painted red, with vertical black zones like pilasters, or antcc, 
besides lines and ornaments of various colours. On the 
wall to the left of tbe entrance is painted a recumbent 
Silenus, crowned with ivy, and pressing in his arms the 
little Bacchus, who in alarm is endeavouring to escape from 
his embraces. Near it, on a yellow groimd, is the bearded 
head of a man, with two claws projecting from his temples 
like horns, and a beard floating as if it was in the water. It 
may j^robably be a mask of Oceanus, who is represented on 
coins of Agrigentum in a somewhat similar manner. Under 
the head is the figure of a hippocampus. 


Fiorelli, Giornale degli Scavi, p. 15. 


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ISfeciklace of Ainxilets found on a-I’emale Skeleton at- Pompeii. 
IST cfw in th e In a ti-orLad Mn s etun , iT aple b . 

















HOUSE OF HOLCONIUS. 


447 


Many objects were found in tliis atrium, some at the height 
of four or live yards from the floor, which must consequently 
have fallen in from the upper stories; and others on the 
pavement itself. But one of the most important discoveries 
was the skeleton of a woman, near the entrance of the 
tablinum. She appears to have been in the act of flight, and 
had with her a small box containing her valuables and nick- 
nacks. Among the most curious of these was a necklace com¬ 
posed of amulets, or charms, which, it will be observed, are 
all attributes of Isis .and her attendant, Anubis, or of her 
husband Osiris, here considered as Bacchus. The mystic 
articles kept in the Isiac cofier were, says Eusebius, a ball, 
dice, (turbo) wheel, mirror, lock of wool.* The annexed cut 
will convey a better idea of this necklace than any description 
of it. 

The first bedchamber on the right of the atrium com¬ 
municated with the shop No. 3, and was probably occupied by 
the slave who conducted the business of it. The first bed¬ 
chamber on the left had a similar communication with the 
shop outside. 

There are few houses in Pompeii in which the paintings 
are more numerous or better preserved than in that which 
we are examining. The second bedchamber on the right has 
several. In this room may be observed a space hollowed in 
the wall to receive the foot of a bed or couch. The walls 
are white, with a red podium, and are surmounted by a cornice 
from which springs the vault. The upper part is painted 
with lines, between which are depicted griffins in repose, 
baskets with thyrsi, branches of herbs, and other objects. 
The lower part of the walls is divided into larger compart¬ 
ments by candelabra supporting little globes. In each 
compartment are eight small pictures, representing the heads 
and busts of Bacchic personages, in a very good state of 
preservation. On the left is Bacchus crowned with ivy, his 
head covered with the mitra, a sort of veil of fine texture which 
descends upon his left shouldej.’. This ornament, as well as 
the cast of his features, reveals the half feminine nature of 
the deity. Opposite to him is the picture of Ariadne, also 
crowned with ivy, clothed in a green chiton and a violet 

* For the explanation of the necklace, the editor is indebted to the kindness 
of the Rev. C. W. King, of Trinity College, Cambridge. 


POMPEII. 


448 

himafion. She presses to her bosom the infant lacchiis, crowned 
with the eternal ivy, and bearing in his hand tlie thyrsus. 
Then follow Bacchic or Panic figures, some conversing, some 
drinking together, some moving apparently in the mazes of 
the dance. Paris, with the Phrygian cap and crook, seems 
to preside over this voluptuous scene, and to listen to a little 
Cupid seated on his shoulder. 

In the chamber on the opposite side of the atrium, front¬ 
ing that just described, were also four pictures, two of which 
are destroyed, the walls having apparently been broken 
through, not long after the destruction of Pompeii, by persons 
in search of their buried property. Of the other two, which 
are almost eifaced, one represents an aged Faun, holding in 
his hands a thyrsus and a vase; the other a young woman 
conversing with an African slave. A wooden chest seems to 
have stood close to the left-hand wall. 

The left ala, or wing, has its walls painted in yellow and 
red compartments, with a black j)odium. In the middle of 
each was a valuable painting, but these, with the exception 
of the greater part of one fronting the entrance, have been 
almost destroyed. The one saved represents Apollo, who 
has overtaken Daphne, and is clasping her in his arms, 
while the nymph, who has fallen on her knees, repels the 
embraces of the deity. A malicious little Cupid, standing 
on tiptoes, draws aside the golden-tissued veil which covered 
the nymph, and displays her naked form. On the left of the 
same apartment is a picture, almost effaced, of Perseus and 
Andromeda; and on the right another with three male 
figures, of which only the lower part remains. 

The right ala, which, however, from its capability of being 
closed with a door, does not properly come under that de¬ 
nomination, seems, from various culinary utensils of rnetal 
and earthenware found in it, to have served as a kitchen, or 
rather perhaps as a store-closet. 

The tablinum, opposite the entrance, and, as usual, with¬ 
out any enclosure on the side of the atrium, has a small 
marble threshold, and bn its floor little squares of coloured 
marbles surrounded with a mosaic border. The yellow 
walls, divided into compartments by vertical stripes of red, 
white, and black, were beautifully ornamented with the 
usual architectural designs and flying figures. On each side 


HOUSE OF HOLCONIUS. 


449 

were two larger pictures, of which only that on the left 
of the spectator remains. It represents Leda showing to 
Tyndareus a nest containing the two boys produced from 
the egg. A stucco cornice runs round the wall, above which 
a flying nymph is painted on a white ground, between two 
balconies, from which a man and woman are looking down 
There are also figures of sphinxes, goats, &c. 

A wooden staircase on the left of the tablinum, the first 
step being of stone, led to the floor above. On the right is 
the passage called fauces, leading to the peristyle. On its 
left-hand side, near the ground, was a rudely traced figure 
of a gladiator, with an inscription above, of which only the 
first letters, PEIMI, remain. On the left wall of the fauces, 
near the extremity, and level with the eye, is another inscrip¬ 
tion, or graffito, in small characters, difficult to be deciphered 
from the unusual nexus of the letters, but which the learned 
have supposed to express the design of an invalid to get rid 
of the pains in his limbs by bathing them in water. 

At the extremity of the fauces, on the right, there is an 
entrance to a room which has also another door leading into 
the portico of the peristyle. The walls are painted black 
and red, and in the compartments are depicted birds, animals, 
frints, &c. Two skeletons were found in this room. In the 
apartment to the left, or east’of the tablinum, of which the 
destination cannot be certainly determined, the walls are 
also painted black, with architectural designs in the middle, 
and figures of winged Cupids variously employed. On the 
larger walls are two paintings, of which that on the right 
represents the often repeated subject of Ariadne, who, just 
awakened from sleep, and supported by a female figure with 
wings, supposed to be Nemesis, views with an attitude of 
grief and stupor the departing ship of Theseus, already far 
from Naxos. On the left side is a pmture of Phryxus, cross¬ 
ing the sea on the ram and stretching out his arms to Helle, 
who has fallen over and appears on the point of drowning. 
The foim of this chamber, twice as long as it is broad 
(Vitruv. vii. 3), its vicinity to the kitchen, and the window, 
through which the slaves might easily convey the viands, 
appear to show that it was a triclinium, or dining-room. 
The floor, which is lower by a step Ihan tlie peristyle, is 
paved with ojpus Signinum and ornamented only at one end 


POMPEII. 


450 

with a mosaic. On one of the walls, about ten feet from 
the floor, is the graffito, Sodales Avete (Welcome Comrades), 
which could have been inscribed there only by a person, 
probably a slave, mounted on a bench or a ladder. ^ 

The viridarium, or xystus, surrounded with spacious porti¬ 
coes, was once filled with the choicest flowers, and refreshed 
by the grateful murmur of two fountains. One of these in 
the middle of the peristyle is square, having in its centre a 
sort of round table from which the water gushed forth, i he 
other fountain, which faces the tablinum, is composed ot a 
little marble staircase, surmomited by the statue ot a boy 
having in his right hand a vase from which the water spirted, 
and under his left arm a goose. The statue is rather damaged. 
Many objects were found in the peristyle, mostly of the kind 
usually discovered in Pompeian houses. Among them wa® 
an amphora, having the following epigraph in black paint: 

COaM. GRAN. 

OF. 

KOM.E. ATERIO. FELICI. 

which has been interpreted to mean that it contained Coan 
wine flavoured with pomegranate, and that it came from 
Pome, from the stores of Aterius Felix.* • 

The portico is sui-rounded by strong columns, and seems 
to have had a second order resting on the first, as may be 
inferred from some indications to the right of him who 
enters from the fauces. The walls are painted red and 
black, with architectural designs, candelabra, meanders, birds, 
winged Cupids, &c. There are also fourteen small pictures 
enclosed in red lines, eight of which represent landscapes 
ar.d sea-shores, with fishermen, and the other six fruits and 
eatables. On the wall on the right side is the following 
graffito, or inscription, scratched with some sharp instrument: 

IIX. ID. IVL. AXVNGIA. PCC. 

ALIV. MANVFLOS. CCE. 

That is : “On the 7th July, hog’s lard, two hundred pounds, 
Garlic, ‘ two hundred bunches.” It seems therefore to be a 
domestic memorandum of articles either bought or sold. 
Around the portico are several rooms, all having marble 

* Fiorelli, Giornale, Xo. 2, p. 48. 


HOUSE OF HOLCONIUS. 


451 

thresholds, and closed by doors turning on bronze hinges. 
On the right hand of the peristyle, near the entrance, is a 
private door, or posticum, leading into the Street of the 
Theatres, by which the master of the house might escape his 
importunate clients. 

The rooms at the sides of the peristyle offer nothing 
remarkable, but the three chambers opposite to the tablinum 
are of considerable size, and contain some good pictures. The 
first on the right has two figures of Nereids traversing the sea, 
one on a sea-bull the other on a hippocampus. Both the 
monsters are guided by a Cupid with reins and whip, and 
followed by dolphins. Another painting opposite the entrance 
is too much effaced to be made out. The same wall has a 
feature not observed in any other Pompeian house, namely, 
a square aperture of rather more than a foot reaching down 
to the floor, and opening upon an enclosed place with a canal 
or drain for carrying off the water of the adjoining houses. 
It seems also to have been a receptacle for lamps, several of 
which were found there. 

Adjoining this room is a large exedra with a little impluvium 
in the middle, which seems to indicate an aperture in the 
roof, a construction hitherto found only in atria. The 
absence of any channels in the floor for conducting water 
seems to show that it could not have been a fountain. This 
exedra is remarkable for its paintings. In the wall in front 
is depicted Narcissus with a javelin in his hand, leaning over 
a rock and admiring himself in the water, in which his image 
is reflected; but great part of the painting is destroyed. A 
little Cupid is extinguishing his torch in the stream. In the 
background is a building with an image of the bearded 
Bacchus ; and near it a terminal figure of Priapus Ithyphal- 
licus, with grapes and other fruits, This picture was much 
damaged in the process of excavation. 

On the left wall is a painting of a naked Hermaphroditus. 
In his right hand is a little torch reversed; his left arm rests 
on the shoulders of Silenus, who appears to accompany his 
songs on the lyre, whilst a winged Cupid sounds the double 
flute. On the other side is a Bacchante with a thyrsus and 
tambourine, and near her a little Satyr, who also holds a torch 
reversed. 

But the best picture in this apartment is that representing 


'452 POMPEII. 

Ariadne discovered by Bacchus. A youthful figure with 
wings, supposed to represent Sleep, stands at Ariadne s head, 
and seems to indicate that she is under his infiuence. Mean¬ 
while a little Faun lifts the veil that covers her, and with an 
attitude indicating surprise at her beauty, turns to Bacchus 
and seems to invite him to contemplate her charms. The 
deity himself, crowned with ivy and berries, clothed in a shoit 



Bacchus discovering Aviadne. 

tunic and a pallium agitated by the breeze, holds in his right 
liand the thyrsus, and lifts his left in token of admiration. 
In the background a Bacchante sounds her tympanum, and 
invites the followers of the god to descend from the mountains. 
These, preceded by Silenus, obey the summons; one is playing 
the double flute, another sounding the cymbals, a third bears 













HOUSE OF RUFUS—OF APOLLO CITHARCEDUS. 453 

Oil lier head a basket of fruit. A Faun and a Bacchante, 
planted on a mountain on the left, survey the scene from a 
distance. The execution of this picture is so spirited that we 
have transferred the annexed engraving of it to our pages. 

The adjoining triclinium, entered by a door from the exedra, 
had also three paintings, one of which however is almost 
destroyed. Of the remaining two, that on the left represents 
Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the damsels of Lyco- 
medes. The subject of that on the right is the Judgment of 
Paris. It is more remarkable for its spirit and colouring 
than for the accuracy of its drawing.’ This apartment has 
also six medallions with heads of Bacchic personages. 

In the same insula as the house just described, and having 
its entrance in the same street, stands the house of Cornelius 
Rufus. It is a handsome dwelling, but as its plan and decora¬ 
tions have nothing to distinguish them from other Pompeian 
houses, we forbear to describe them. The only remarkable 
feature in this excavation was the discovery of a Hermes at 
the bottom of the atrium on the left, on which was a marble 
bust of the owner, as large as life and well executed, having 
his name inscribed beneath. As this feature does not occur 
elsewhere, we have given a cut of the interior of the house 
on the next page. 

Not far from the houses just described, in the Street of 
Stabiae, at the angle formed by the street leading to the 
amphitheatre, stands the house of Apollo Citharoedus, excavated 
in 1864. It derives its name from a fine bronze statue, as 
large as life, of Apollo sounding the lyre, which was found 
there, but has now been placed in the Museum at Naples. In 
this house the tablinum and a peristyle beyond are on a 
higher level than the atrium; consequently the fauces, or 
passage leading to the latter, ascends. In the peristyle is a 
semicircular fountain, on the margin of which were disposed 
several animals in bronze, representing ^ hunting scene. In 
the centre was a wild boar in flight attacked by two dogs; at 
the sides were placed a lion, a stag, and a serpent. These 
animals, arranged in the same way in which they were found, 
are now preserved in the Museum. 

An unusual arrangement in this house is a second peristyle 
at the side of the first, and divided from it by a wall having 
six windows, and a door at each end. At the bottom of this 


454 


POMPEII. 



I 


House of Cornelius Rufus. 















































































































































































































HOUSE OF LUCRETIUS. 455 

second peiistyle are some apartments, of wliich tlie furthest 
on the right-hand side is of considerable size. 

At the bottom of the first peristyle, on the right-hand side, 
is a large door or archway, which forms the entry to a small 
atrium, having rooms at its sides. On the wall is a picture 
of the Judgment of Paris, but much inferior in execution to 
that in the House of Holconius. Some of the adjacent 
chambers have also paintings. On the left side of the same 
peristyle is a flight of steps leading to another peristyle on a 
higher level, and belonging to another house, which has its 
principal entrance in the street that leads to the amphi¬ 
theatre. 

In the same Street of Stabise, and on the same side of the 
way, but at a considerable distance towards the north, stands 
another house, numbered 33 on the door, remarkable both for 
its plan and its decorations. It was excavated in 1847. In 



a room of the peristyle was discovered a painting, now re¬ 
moved to the Museum, in which was depicted a writing-tablet, 
style, inkstand, reed, and seal, with the following words: 
M. Lucretio Flam. Martis Decurioni Pompei; whence it has 
been inferred that the house belonged to one Marcus Lucretius, 
a Flamen of Mars and Decurio of Pompeii. 

A striking architectural arrangement of this dwelling is, 
that the peristyle is on a considerably higher level than the 
atrium and tablinum, so that the spectator immediately on 
entering is struck with a perspective view of the fountain at 
the bottom of the peristyle. Tliis house, for its size and de¬ 
corations, is among the most important in Pompeii, but its 












456 


POMPEII. 





House ol Lucretius 










































































































































































































































































































































HOUSE OF LUCRETIUS. 


457 

arrangement is irregular and capricious, as will be seen from 
the annexed ground plan. The front is almost entirely 
occupied by shops, 1, 2, 3. The prothyrum 5, succeeding 
the vestibule, 4, is adorned with paintings: that on the right 
side representing a woman crowned with ivy ai^d playing on 
the double flute, whilst a drunken man leans on her shoulder ; 
whence the house has sometimes been called the Casa delle 
Suonatrieij or House of the Female Musicians. Opposite this 



painting may be observed the lower part of another, repre¬ 
senting Ceres with two torches. On the same walls are also 
three Tacchantes. The floor, which ascends rapidly from the 
street to the atrium, 7, has a pavement of white and black 
mosaic. On the left of the prothyrum is the porter s lodge, 
6, having a communication with it as well as with the 
atrium. 

The Tuscan atrium is decorated with fantastic architec¬ 
tural views, with tritons, hii)pocampi, and centaurs. It is 



















POMPEII. 


458 

surrounded witli four bedchambers, 9, 10, 11, 12, two aZi£, 
or wings, 13, 11, and the tablinum at the bottom, 16. The 
impluvium, in rough masonry, appears to have been rej^airing 
at the time of the destruction of Pompeii. On the right, 
after passing the prothyrum, may be observed a lararium, 8, 
the niche of which, elevated on a base between three and 
four feet in height, had two columns, and was richly orna¬ 
mented with coloured stuccos. In it were found three little 
bronze figures, among them a Hercules. The bedchambers 
are adorned with paintings. In those on the right are 
depicted Chiron and Achilles; Thalia and Melpomene; a 
nympli; Psyche in a long robe, stretching forth her arms 
towards a lion; Cyparissa seated by her hind, which regards 
her with affection; Bacchus, with radiated head, and clothed 
in a woman’s robe, placing his foot on an elephant’s head, 
with other figures. Also Cupids and arabesques elegantly 
executed. 

Beyond these chambers the right ala, 14, is entered. The 
panels of the walls, originally painted yellow, have turned red 
from the effects of the heat. Seven j^ictures which originally 
adorned this apartment have been removed to the Museum. 
Among those remaining may be observed a Cupid, gracefully 
holding a crown above his head. A thyrsus and a small 
fillet are leaning against a large vase, whilst on tlie ground 
are cymbals, a tambourine, and a scenic mask. Above this 
picture is another representing a man with a cro^\^I, seated, 
liis legs covered with a chlamys, discoursing with another 
masked figure. By the side of the first man is a scrinium for 
books. 

A large opening in this wing leads into a magnificent tri¬ 
clinium, 15, which was adorned with three fine paintings, two 
of which have been removed to the Museum. One of these, 
with figures as la,rge as life, rei)resented Bacchus in a car 
drawn by oxen, supjiorted by Silenus, and surrounded by 
Satyrs and other Bacchic figures. The subject of another 
picture was Hercules and Omj)hale ; the third, which still 
remains, represents a Bacchanalian procession : it is near a 
large window opening on the xystus. It is easy to see that 
these three pictures, as well as others in the same house, were 
not painted on the walls but inserted into them. 

The two bedchambers on the left of the atrium, 11, 12, 


HOUSE OF LUCRETIUS. 


459 


also contained paintings, two of wliicli, representing Narcissus 
admiring liimself in the water, and Phryxus and Helle, have 
been removed to the Museum. Among those still remaining 
may be observed two pictures of Venus, a Satyr lifting thd 
robe of a sleeping nymph, Cupid delivering a letter to Poly¬ 
phemus, medallion heads of Jupiter, Juno, Mars, and Venus, 
&c. The left wing beyond these chambers, 18, had also 
paintings, which are now almost effaced. This ala com¬ 
municated with a kitchen and bakehouse, and other offices, 
17, 18, 19, 20. In the kitchen, 20, were found divers 
culinary utensils, a pastry mould, and a cylindrical iron 
oven. 

The tablinum has a pavement of black and white mosaic, 
with a centre-j)iece of coloured marbles, in the middle of 
which is a round piece of giallo antico surrounded with a 
garland of coloured mosaics. The walls w^ere painted with 
architectural subjects, and have spaces for two great paintings, 
which have either been carried away, or had not yet been 
fixed in their places, at the time when Pompeii was over¬ 
whelmed—a proof that the houses were sometimes adorned 
with moveable pictures.* 

To the left of the tablinum are the fauces, or corridor, 22, 
w'ith a flight of eight steps to ascend to the level of the peri¬ 
style. On these steps was found a skeleton. The walls are 
adorned with paintings of birds and masks. On the red part 
of a pillar at one of the angles of the peristyle was a laby¬ 
rinth, and the following graffito rudely traced with a style 
Lahyrintlms. Hie habitat Minotaurus. The graffito is now 
removed. On the left of this corridor is a sort of store- 
closet, 21. . ^ ^ 

The viridarium, or garden, in the middle of the peristyle, is 
-adorned with two fountains. That at the end, 30, resembling 
a little chapel, is ornamented with mosaics and shells, and is 
surmounted by a small white marble statue of Silenus, which 
still retains traces of having been painted. The wine-skin 
on which he leans was coloured black From it issued a jet 
of water, which, falling in a cascade down five marble steps, 
ran down a channel to the circular basin in the middle of the 
xystus. In the centre of this basin is a column, which also 


♦ Breton, Fompeia, p. 321. 


POMI*EII. 


460 

threw up a, jet d'eau. On each side of the upper fountain ai^e 
marble cippi surmounted by hermes with two faces. One of 
these represents Bacchus and Ariadne; the other a Faun and 
a Bacchante. Similar hermes are likewise placed in the 
opposite corners of the peristyle, having heads of the bearded 
Bacchus, and a Bacchante. Around the central basin are 
arranged small sculptures, in which no proportion of relative 
size is observed, and Avhich vary much in execution. The" 
best .among them are two Fauns, one of which lifts his htand 
to his head; the other, which terminates like a hermes, has 
under his left arm a kid, and in his right hand a syrinx, or 
pan-pipe. A she-goat, erect at his feet, seems entreating for 
her young one. In the centre of the group, facing the 
tablinum, is Cupid extracting a thorn from the foot of Pan. 
Bound the basin are other figures of Cupid on a dolphin, 
stags, cows, water-fowl, &c. All these figures seem to have 
been connected with the fountain and to have thrown jets of 
water. 

•The left side of the portico of the peristyle is divided into 
two little cabinets, 23, 24, which may probably have formed 
a library. The first cabinet has a picture, almost effaced, of 
Venus and Cupid. In the second was found the picture of 
writing materials already described, from which was inferred 
the name of the master of the house. 

At the bottom of this left side of the portico is an open 
space, 31, probably a sort of court, with a staircase leading 
to an upper floor. To the left of this is, as it were, another 
small house, but communicating through its tablinum, 32, as 
well as with a corridor or fauces, with the house we are 
describing. Its entrance, 39, opened upon a little street 
running at right angles to the Street of Stabiae. We have 
already had examples of this kind of double house. On- 
each side of the prothyrum was a bedchamber, 37, 38, and 
.another, 34, next to the tablinum. The atrium, paved with 
opus Signinum, had a small compluvium in the centre, 33. 
On its right side, from the prothyrum, are two small recesses, 
or closets, 35, 36 ; on the wall opposite to them was a large 
painting, now almost effaced. 

Returning to the first portion of the house, we find at the 
bottom of the peristyle two apartments, 25, 26, which probably 
served .as bedchambers. They are paved with opus Signinum, 


HOUSE OF LUCRETIUS. 


461 

intermixed with little pieces of marble. The pictures with 
which they were ornamented have either been removed or 
are very much damaged. The last room on the right, 27, 
was perhaps a wardrobe, with a latrina at the bottom of it. 
Next to this, at the further right-hand corner of the peristyle, 
is a staircase, 28, which seems to have led to the cellar. The 
large apartment, 29, which occupies the greater portion of 
tlie right-hand side of the peristyle, is thought by some to 
have been an oecus or exedra, while others have taken it for 
a summer triclinium. The latter opinion is favoured by the 
circumstance that in this apartment were found three little 
one-handled amphorae, on one of which was painted in black 
letters, TVSCOLA ( ... ON) OFFICINA SCAV; and 
on the others, LIQVAMEN.* Several other articles were 
found on the occasion of this scavo, made in the presence of 
Queen Christina of Spain, May 22nd, 1847. 

Adjoining the house of Lucretius are several shops. That 
next door but one appears to have belonged to a chemist or 
colour-maker. On the right of the atrium is a triple furnace, 
constructed for the reception of tliree large cauldrons at 
ditferent levels, which were reached by steps. The house 
contained a great quantity of carbonised drugs. At the sides 
of the entrance were two shops for the sale of the manufac¬ 
tured articles. In one of these shops was discovered, some 
yards below the old level of the soil, the skeleton of a woman 
with two bracelets of gold, two of silver, four earrings, five 
rings, forty-seven gold, and one hundred and ninety-seven 
silver coins, in a purse of netted gold. 

The space bounded on the north by the Street of the 
Augustals, on the south by the Vicoletto del Calcidico, on 
the east by the Street of Stabise, and on the west by the 
Street of Eumachia, running at the back of the buildings on 
the east side of the Forum, contains some of the most recent 
excavations. Of these however we shall select for descrip¬ 
tion only a few of the more important. It is not the main 
object of this work to serve as a guide, but to give a general 
idea of Pompeii; and it would be tedious for the general 
reader to repeat details which necessarily have much sameness. 

At the back of the new, or Stabisen Baths, already described, 


Pomp, Antiq. Hist., vol. ii. p, 465. 


POMPEII. 


462 

a small street has been cleared out running parallel with that 
of Stabise, and extending from the Street of the Augusta] s 
to that of Abundance, which it enters just opposite to the 
Street of the Theatres. This new street, or rather lane, for 
it is very narrow, has obtained the name of Via del Lupanare, 
from a Lupanar^ or brothel, situated in about the middle of 
it. Passing down this street from the Street of Abundance, 
the visitor finds on the right, just beyond the back wall of the 
Thermae Stabianae, the entrance of a handsome dwelling. 
An inscription in red letters on the outside wall containing 
the name of Siricus has occasioned the conjecture that this 
was the name of the owner of the house; while a mosaic 
inscription on the floor of the prothyrum, having the words 
Salve Lucru, has given rise to a second appellation for the 
dwelling. The name of Siricus was also found on a pilaster 
at the principal entrance of the house in the Via Stabiana. 
It has also been called the House of the Kussian Princes, 
from some excavations made here in 1851 in presence of the 
sons of the Emperor of Kussia.* By some authorities how¬ 
ever the House of the Russian Princes is described as a 
separate one; but at all events they communicate with each 
other. 

A door on the right of the prothyrum leads into a room 
having towards the street a window protected by an iron 
grating, and at too great a height from the floor to allow any 
one to look through it. The walls are white, divided into 
compartments by red lines and candelabra. In the middle 
of them are griffins, swans, discs, among fantastical pieces of 
architecture, &c. 

The walls of the atrium are covered merely with a coarse 
white plaster, which forms a striking contrast with the elegant 
paintings of the adjacent apartments. The white marble 
impluviiim is very handsome. In the middle, probably, was 
a jet (Teaii; at top stand two marble tables and a plinth, 
designed apparently to support a small statue, through which 
also rose a jet (Veau. On the right of the impluvium is a 
puteal of Tiburtine stone. At the wall on the same side was 
a sort of wooden press or cupboard, to hold domestic utensils, 
of which many were found here. 


* Giornale degli Scavi, No. 13, p. 4. 


HOUSE OF SIRICUS. 


463 


Opposite the entrance, in the place of the tablinum, was 
an undecorated apartment, which seems to have served for a 
counting-house or office. The bones of a dog and many 
objects were found in this room; among them a bronze seal, 
with the letters SIRICI in relief, and a large and handsome 
gold ring, having a cornelian engraved with the head of a 
man. 

On the left of the prothyrum is an apartment with two 
doors, one opening on a wooden staircase leading to an upper 
floor, the other forming the entry to a room next the street, 
with a window like that described in the other room next the 
prothyrum. The walls of this chamber are white, divided 
by red and yellow zones into compartments, in which are 
depicted the symbols of the principal deities -as the eagle 
and globe of Jove, the peacock of Juno, the lance, helmet, 
and shield of Minerva, the panther of Bacchus, a Sphinx, 
having near it the mystical chest and sistrum of Isis, who 
was the Venus Physica of the Pompeians, the caduceus and 
other emblems of Mercury, &c. There are also two small 
landscapes. 

Next to this is a large and handsome exedra, decorated 
with good pictures, a third of the size of life. That on the 
left represents Neptune and Apollo presiding at the building 
of Troy : the former, armed with his trident, is seated; the 
latter, crowned with laurel, is on foot, and leans with his 
right arm on a lyre. 

On the wall opposite to this is a picture of Vulcan pre¬ 
senting the arms of Achilles to Thetis. The celebrated 
shield is supported by Vulcan on the anvil, and displayed to 
Thetis, who is seated, whilst a winged female figure standing 
at her side points out to her with a rod the marvels of its 
workmanship. Agreeably to the Homeric description, the 
shield is encircled with the signs of the zodiac, and in the 
middle are the bear, the dragon, &e. On the ground are the 
breast-plate, the greaves, and the helmet. 

In the third picture is seen Hercules crowned with ivy, 
inebriated, and lying on the ground at the foot of a cypress 
tree. He is clothed in a sandyx, or short transparent tunic, 
and has on his feet a sort of shoes, one of which he has kicked 
off. He supports himself on his left arm, while the right is 
raised in drunken ecstacy. A little Cupid plucks at his 


464 


POMPEII. 


garland of ivy, another tries to drag away his ample gohlet. 
In the middle of the picture is an altar with festoons. On the 
toj) of it three Cupids, assisted by another who has climbed 
up the tree, endeavour to bear on their shoulders the hero’s 
quiver; while on the ground, to the left of the altar, four 
other Cupids are sporting with his club. A votive tablet 
with an image of Bacchus rests at the foot of the altar, and 
indicates the god to whom Hercules has been sacrificing. 



Ileicales Oruiik. 


On the left of the j)icture, on a little eminence, is a group 
of three 'females round a column having on its top a vase. 
The chief and central figure, which is naked to the waist, 
has in her hand a fan; sh(i seems to look with interest on 
the drunken hero, but whom she represents it is difficult to 
say. On the right, half way up a mountain, sits Bacchus, 


























HOUSE OF SIRICUS. 


465 

looking on the scene with a complacency not unmixed with 
surprise. He is surrounded by his usual rout of attendants, 
one of whom bears a thyrsus. The annexed engraving will 
convey a clearer idea of the picture, which for grace, grandeur 
of composition, and delicacy and freshness of colouring, is 
among the best discovered at Pompeii. The exedra is also 
adorned with many other paintings and ornaments, which it 
would be too long to describe. 

On the same side of the atrium, beyond a passage leading 
to a kitchen with an oven, is an elegant triclinium fenestr at am 
looking upon an adjacent garden. The walls are black, 
divided by red and yellow zones, with candelabra and archi¬ 
tectural members intermixed with quadrupeds, birds, dol¬ 
phins, Tritons, masks, &c., and in the middle of each 
compartment is a Bacchante, lii each wall are three small 
paintings executed with greater care. The first, which has 
been removed, represented iEneas in his tent, who, accom¬ 
panied by Mnestheus, Achates, and young Ascanius, presents 
his thigh to the surgeon, lapis, in order to extract from it 
the barb of an arrow. iEneas supports himself with the 
lance in his right hand, and leans with the other on the 
shoulder of his son, who, overcome by his father’s misfortune, 
wipes the tears from his eyes with the hem of his robe; 
while lapis, kneeling on one leg before the hero, is intent on 
extracting the barb with his forceps. But the wound is not 
to be healed without divine interposition. In the back¬ 
ground of the picture Venus is hastening to her son’s relief, 
bearing in her hand the branch of dictamnus which is to 
restore him to his pristine vigour. 

The subject of the second picture, which is much damaged, 
is not easy to be explained. It represents a naked hero, 
armed with sword and s^^ear, to whom a woman crowned with 
laurel and clothed' in an am 2 )le peplum is pointing out 
another female figure. The latter expresses by her gestures 
her grief and indignation at the warrior’s departure, the 
imminence of which is signified by the chariot that awaits 
him. Signor Fiorelli thinks he recognizes in this picture 
Turnus, Lavinia, and Amata, when the queen supplicates 
Turnus not to fight with the Trojans. 

The third painting represents Hermaphroditus surrounded 
by six nynqdis, variously emj)loyed. 

2 II 


466 


POMPEII. 


From the atrium a narrow fauces or corridor led into the 
garden. Three steps on the left connected this j^art of the 
house with the other and more magnificent portion having its 
entrance from the Strada Stabiana. The garden was sur¬ 
rounded on two sides with a portico, on the right of which 
are some apartments which do not require particular notice. 

The house entered, at a higher level, by the three steps just 
mentioned, was at first considered as a separate house, and as 
we have said, has been called the House of the Russian 
Princes, from some excavations made here in 1851 in ju'esence 
of the sons of the Emperor of Russia. The peculiarities 
observable in this house are that the atrium and peristyle are 
broader than they are deep, and that they are not separated 
b}^ a tablinum and other rooms, but simply by a wall. In 
the centre of the Tuscan atrium, entered from the Street of 
Stabias, is a handsome marble impluvium. At the top of it is 
a square cippus, coated with marble, and having a leaden 
pipe which flung the water into a square vase or basin 
supported by a little base of white marble, ornamented with 
acanthus leaves. Beside the fountain is a table of the same 
material, supported by two legs beautifully sculptured, of a 
chimtera and a griffin. On this table was a little bronze group 
of Hercules armed with his club, and a young Phrygian 
kneeling before him. • » 

From the atrium the peristyle is entered by a large door. 
It is about forty-six feet broad and thirty-six deep, and has 
ten columns, one of which still sustains a fragment of the 
entablature. The walls were painted in red and yellow 
panels alternately, with figures of Latona, Diana, Bacchantes, 
&c. At the bottom of the peristyle, on the right, is a tri¬ 
clinium. In the middle is a small cecus, with two pillars 
richly ornamented with arabesques. A little apartment on 
the left has several pictures. 

In this house, at a height of seventeen Neapolitan palms 
(nearly fifteen feet) from the level of the ground, were dis¬ 
covered four skeletons together in an almost vertical position. 
Twelve palms lower was another skeleton, with a hatchet 
near it. This man appears to have pierced the wall of one 
of the small chambers of the prothyrum, and was about to 
enter it, when he was smothered, either by the falling in of 
the earth or by the mephitic exhalatious. It has been thought 


ELEPHANT INN—CAUPONA, 467 

that these persons perished while engaged in searching for 
valuables after the catastrophe.* 

In the back room of a thermopolium not far from this spot 
was discovered a graffito of part of the first line of the ^neid, 
in which the rs were turned into Zs: 

Alma vilunique cano Tlo.f 

We will now return to the house of Siricus. Contiguous to 
it in the Via del Lupanare is a building having two doors 
separated with pilasters. By way of sign, an elephant was 
painted on the wall, enveloped by a large serpent and tended 
by a pigmy. Above was the inscription : Sittius restituit 
elephantum ; and beneath the following ;— 

Hospitium hie locatur 
Triclinium cum ti ibus lectis 
Et comm. 

Both the painting and the inscription have now disappeared. 
The discovery is curious, as proving that the ancients used 
signs for their taverns. Orelli has given in his Inscriptions^ 
in Gaul, one of a Cock (a~ Gallo Gallinacio). In that at 
Pompeii the last word stands for “ commodis.” “ Here is a 
triclinium with three beds and other conveniences.” 

Just opposite the gate of Siricus was another house also 
supposed to be a caupona, or tavern, from some chequers 
painted on the door-posts. On the wall are depicted two 
large serpents, the emblem so frequently met with. They 
were the symbols of the Lares viales, or compitales, and, as 
we have said, rendered the place sacred against the commis¬ 
sion of any nuisance. The cross, which is sometimes seen on 
the walls of houses in a modern Italian city, serves the same 
jjurpose. Above the serpents is the following inscription, in 
tolerably large white characters : Otiosis locus hie non est, 
discede morator. “ Lingerer, depart; this is no place for 
idlers.” An injunction by the way which seems rather to 
militate against the idea of the house having been a tavern. 

* Aloft, liuines, &c., p. 137. 

t It should be mentioned, however, that the Journal of the superintendent 
of the scavi gives them written in the usual way:— 

Arma virumque cano Tro. 

See Pomp. Ant. Hist., t. ii. p. 543. 

J t, ii. p. 270, No. 4329-30. Cf. Fiorelli. 


POMPEII. 


468 

The inscrii^tion just mentioned suggests an opportunity 
for giving a short account of similar ones; vve speak not of 
inscriptions cut in stone, and affixed to temples and other 
public buildings, but such as were either painted, scrawled in 
charcoal and otlier substances, or scratched with a sharp point, 
such as a nail or knife, on the stucco of walls and pillars. 
Such inscriptions afford us a peep both into the j)ublic and 
the domestic life of the Pompeians. Advertisements of a 
political character were commonly painted on the exterior 
walls in large letters in black and red paint; poetical effusions 
or pasq^uinades, &c., with coal or chalk (Martial, E_pig. xii. 
61, 9); while notices of a domestic kind are more usually 
found in the interior of the houses, scratched, as we have 
said, on the stucco, whence they have been called graffiti. 

The numerous political inscriptions bear testimony to the 
activity of public life in Pompeii. These advertisements, 
which for the most part turn on the election of iediles, 
duumvirs, and other magistrates, show^ that the Pompeians, at 
the time when their city was destroyed, were in all the 
excitement of the approaching comitia for the election of 
such magistrates. We shall here select a few of the more 
interesting inscriptions, both relating to public and domestic 
matters, from those collected by Overbeck in the second 
volume of his valuable work on Pompeii (cli. 6). 

It seems to have been customary to paint over old advertise¬ 
ments with a coat of white, and so to obtain a fresh surface 
for new ones, just as the London bill-sticker remorselessly 
pastes his bill over that of some brother of the brush. In 
some cases this new coating has been detached, or has fallen 
off, thus revealing an older notice, belonging sometimes to a 
period antecedent to the Social War. Inscriptions of this 
kind are found only on the solid stone pillars of the more 
ancient buildings, and not on the stucco, with which at a 
later period almost everything was plastered. Their antiquity 
is further certified by some of them being in the Oscan 
dialect; while those in Latin are distinguished from more 
recent ones in the same language by the forms of the letters, 
by the names which appear in them, and by archaisms in 
grammar and orthography. Inscriptions in the Greek tongue 
are rare, though the letters of the Greek alphabet, scratched 
on walls at a little height from the ground, and thus evidently 


INSCRIPTIONS 469 

the work of schoolboys, show that Greek must have been 
extensively taught at Pompeii. 

The normal form of electioneering advertisements contains 
the name of the person recommended, the office for which he 
is a candidate, and the name of the person, or persons, who 
recommended him, accompanied in general with the formula 
O.V.F. From examples written in full, recently discovered, 
it aj^pears that these letters mean oral (or orant) vos facialis : 
“ beseech you to create ” (aedile and so forth). The letters in 
question were, before this discovery, very often thought to 
stand for oral ut faveat, “begs him to favour and thus the 
meaning of the inscription was entirely reversed, and the 
person recommending converted into the person recom¬ 
mended.* In the following example for instance— M. Hol- 
conium Priscum duumvirum juri dicundo O.V.F. Philippiis; 
the meaning, according to the older interpretation, will be: 
“ Philippus beseeches M. Holconius Priscus. duumvir of 
justice, to favour or patronize himwhereas the true sense 
is: “ Philippus beseeches you to create M. Holconius Priscus 
a duumvir of justice.” From this misinterpretation wrong 
names have frequently been given to houses ; as is probably 
the case, for instance, with the house of Pansa,| which, from 
the tcnour of the inscription, more probably belonged to 
Paratus, who posted on his own walls a request to passers-by 
to make his friend Pansa jedile. Had it been the house of 
Pansa, when a cnndidate for the sedileship, and if it was the 
custom for such candidates to post recommendatory notices 
on their doors, it may be supposed that Pansa would have ex¬ 
hibited more than this single one from a solitary friend. 
This is a more probable meaning than that Paratus solicited 
in this way the patronage of Pansa; for it would have been a 
bad method to gain it by disfiguring his walls in so imper¬ 
tinent a manner. We do not indeed • mean ' to deny that 
adulatory inscriptions were sometimes written on the houses 
or doors of jiowcrful or popular men or pretty women. A 
verse of Plautus bears testimony to such a custom (Impleantur 
meae foreis elogiorum carbonibus. Mercator, act ii. sc. 3). 
But first, the inscription on the so-called house of Pansa 
was evidently not of an adulatory, but of a recommendatory 

* Compare the editor’s note at p. 80, Part I. 

t See above, p. 318. 


po:mpeii. 


470 

cliaracter; and secondly, those of the former kind, as we 
learn from this same verse, seem to have been written by 
passing admirers, with some material ready to the hand, such 
as charcoal or the like, and not painted on the walls with 
care, and time, and expense; a proceeding which we can 
hardly think the owner of the house, if he was a modest and 
sensible man, would have tolerated. 

^ Eecommendations of candidates were often accompanied 
wHh a word or two in their praise; as digniis, or dignissimus 
est, prohissimus, jiivenis integer, friigi, omni hono meritiis, and 
the like. Such recommendations are sometimes subscribed 
by guilds or corporations, as well as by private persons, and 
show that there were a great many such trade unions at 
Pompeii. Thus we find mentioned the offectores (dyers), 
pistores (bakers), aurifices (goldsmiths), pomarii (fruiterers), 
cceparii (greengrocers), lignarii (wood merchants), plostrarii 
(cart-wrights), plscicapi (fishermen), agricolce (husbandmen), 
muliones (muleteers), cuUnarii (cooks), fullones (fullers), and 
others. Advertisements of this sort appear to have been laid 
hold of as a vehicle for street wit, just as electioneering squibs 
are perpetrated among ourselves. Thus we find mentioned, 
as if among the companies, the pilicrepi (ball-players), the 
serihihi (late topers), the dormientes universi (all the worshipful 
company of sleepers), and as a climax, Pompeiani universi (all 
the Pompeians, to a man, vote for so and so). One of these 
recommendations, purporting to emanate from a “ teacher ” or 
“ professor,” runs, Yalentius cum discentes suos (Valentins with 
his disciples); the bad grammar being probably intended as 
a gibe upon one of the poor man’s weak points. 

The inscriptions in chalk and coal, the graffiti, and occa¬ 
sionally painted inscriptions, contain sometimes well-known 
verses from poets still extant. Some of these exhibit varia¬ 
tions from the modern text, but being written by not very 
highly educated persons, they seldom or never present any 
various readings that it would be desirable to adopt, and 
indeed contain now and then prosodical errors. Other verses, 
some of them by no means contemptible, are either taken 
from pieces now lost, or are the invention of the writer him¬ 
self. Many of these inscriptions are of course of an amatory 
character; some convey intelligence of not much importance 
to anybody but the writer—as, that he is troubled with a 


GRAFFITI. 


471 


cold—or was seventeen centuries ago—or that he considers 
somebody who does not invite him to supper as no better 
than a brute and barbarian, or invokes blessings on the man 
that does. Some are capped by another hand with a biting 
sarcasm on the first writer, and many, as might be expected, 
are scurrilous and indecent. Some of the graffiti on the 
interior walls and pillars of houses are memorandums of 
domestic transactions; as, how much lard was bought, how 
many tunics sent to the wash, when a child or a donkey was 
born, and the like. One of this kind, scratched on the wall 
of the peristyle of the corner house in the Strada della Fortuna 
and Vicolo degli Scienziati, appears to be an account of the 
dispensator or overseer of the tasks in spinning allotted to 
the female slaves of the establishment, and is interesting as 
furnishing us with their names, which are Vitalis, Florentina, 
Amarullis, Januaria, Heracla, Maria (Maria, feminine of 
Marius, not Maria), Lalagia, (reminding us of Horace’s 
Lalage), Damalis, and Doris. The pensum, or weight of wool 
delivered to each to be spun, is spelt pesu, the n and final m 
being omitted, just as we find salve lucru, for lucrum, written 
on the threshold of the house of Siricus. In this form, pesu 
is very close to the Italian word jpeso. 

We have already alluded now and then to the rude etchings 
and caricatures of these wall-artists, but to enter fully into 
the subject of the Pompeian inscriptions and graffiti would 
almost demand a separate volume, and we must therefore 
resume fhe thread of our description. 

A little beyond the house of Siricus, a small street, running 
down at right angles from the direction of the Forum, enters 
the Via del Lupanare. Just at their junction, and having 
an entrance into both, stands the Lupanar, from which the 
latter street derives its name. We cannot venture upon a 
description of this resort of Pagan immorality. It is kept 
locked up, but the guide will procure the key for those who 
may wish to see it.* Next to it is the House of the Fuller, 
in which was found the elegant little bronze statuette of 
Narcissus, now in the Museum. The house contained nothing 
else of interest. 

The Via del Lupanare terminates in the Street of the 

* There is an account of its arrangement and inscriptions in Fiorelli’s 
Gioi-nale, No. 14., p. 48, seij. 


POMPEII. 


m 

Aiigustals, or of the Dried Fruits. In this latter street, 
nearly opposite the end of the Via del Lupanare, but a little 
to the left, is the House of Narcissus, or of the Mosaic 
Fountain. This house is one of the most recent excavations 
in Pompeii, having been cleared out in 1865. At the 
threshold is a mosaic of a bear, with the word Have. The 
prothyrum is painted with figures on a yellow ground. On 
the left is a medallion of a satyr and nymph; the opposite 
medallion is destroyed. a 

The atrium is paved with mosaic. The first room on the 
right-hand side of it has a picture of Narcissus admiring 
himself in the water. The opposite picture has a female 
figure seated, with a child in her arms, and a large chest 
02 >en before her. The tablinum is handsomely paved with 
mosaic and marble. Behind this, in place of a peristyle, is a 
court or garden, the wall of which is j)ainted with a figure 
bearing a basin. At the bottom is a handsome mosaic 
fountain, from which the house derives one of its names, with 
a figure of Neptune surrounded by fishes and sea-fowl; above 
are depicted large wild boars. 

On the opposite side of the way, at the eastern angle of the 
Street of the Lupanar, is the House of the Eudder and Trident, 
also called the House of Mars and Venus. The first of these 
names is derived from the mosaic pavement in the prothyrum, 
in which the objects mentioned are represented; while a 
medallion picture in the atrium, with heads of Mars and 
Venus, gave rise to the second appellation. The colours of 
this picture are still quite fresh, a result which Signor 
Fiorelli attributes to his having caused a varnish of wax to 
be laid over the painting at the time of its discovery.* With¬ 
out some such iDrotection the colours of these pictures soon 
decay; the cinnabar, or vermilion, especially, turns black after 
a few days’ exposure to the light. 

The atrium, as usual, is surrounded with bedchambers. A 
peculiarity not yet found in any other house is a niche or 
closet on the left of the atrium, having on one side an opening 
only large enough to introduce the hand, whence it has been 
conjectured that it served as a receptacle for some valuable 
objects. It is painted inside with a wall of quadrangular 


* Giornale, No. 15, p. 89. 


HOUSE OF THE BALCONY. 


473 

pieces of marble of various colours, terminated at top with a 
comice. In each of the squares is a fish, bird, or quadruped. 

This closet or niche stands at the door of a room in which 
is an entrance to a subterranean passage, having its exit in the 
Via del Lupanare, There is nothing very remarkable in the 
other apartments of this house. Behind is a peristyle with 
twelve columns, in the garden of which shrubs are said to 
have been discovered in a carbonized state. 

Further down the same Street of the Augustals, at the 
angle which it forms with the Street of Stabite, is the house 
of a baker, having on the external wall the name Modestum 
in red letters. For a tradesman it seems to liave been a 
comfortable house, having an atrium and fountain, and some 
painted chambers. Beyond the atrium is a spacious court 
^vith mills and an oven. The oven was charged with more 
than eighty loaves, the forms of which are still perfect, 
though they are reduced to a carbonaceous state. They are 
preserved in the Museum. 

The narrow street to which we have alluded, as entering 
the Via del Lupanare nearly opposite to the house of Siricus, 
has been called the Via del Balcone, from a small house with 
a projecting balcony, or mienianum. Indications of balconies 
have been found elsewhere, and indeed there were evidently 
some in the Via del Lupanare; but this is the only instance 
of one restored to its pristine state, through the care of Signor 
Fiorelli in substituting fresh timbers for those which had 
become carbonized. The visitor may ascend to the first floor 
of this house, from which the balcony projects several feet 
into the narrow lane. In the atrium of this house, of which 
we annex an engraving on p. 474, is a very pretty fountain. 

The house next to that of the Balcony, facing the entrance 
of a small street leading from the Via dell Abbondanza, and 
numbered 7 on the door-post, has a few pictures in a tolerable 
state of preservation. In a painting in the furthest room on 
the left of the atrium Theseus is seen departing in his ship; 
Ariadne, roused from sleep, gazes on him with despair, while 
a little weeping Cupid stands by her side. In the same 
apartment are two other well-preserved pictui’es, the subjects 
of which it is not easy to explain. In one is a female display¬ 
ing to a man two little Cupids in a nest, while four other 
figures are looking on. The other is sometimes called the 


474 


POMPEII 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































































HOUSE OF THE BALCONY. 475 

Rape of Helen. There are also several medallion heads 
around.* 

In the small street which runs parallel with the eastern 
side of the Forum, called the Vico di Eumachia, is a house 
named the Gasa nuova della Caccia, to distinguish it from one 
of the same name previously discovered. As in the former 
instance, its appellation is derived from a large painting on 
the wall of the peristyle, of bears, lions, and other animals. 
On the right-hand wall of the tablinum is a picture of Bacchus 
discovering Ariadne. A satyr lifts her vest, while Silenus 
and other figures look on in admiration. The painting on the 
left-hand wail is destroyed. On entering the peristyle a door 
on the right leads down some steps into a garden, on one side 
of which is a small altar before a wall, on which is a painting 
of shrubs. 

Proceeding from this street into the Vico Storto, which 
forms a continuation of it on the north, we find on the right 
a recently excavated house, which, from several slabs of 
variously coloured marbles found in it, has been called the 
House of the Dealer in Marbles. Under a large court in the 
interior, surrounded with Doric columns, are some subter¬ 
ranean apartments, in one of which was discovered a well 
more than eighty feet deep, and still supplied with fresh 
water ; almost the only instance of the kind at Pompeii. The 
beautiful statuette of Silenus, already described, was found in 
this house. Here also was made the rare discovery of the 
skeletons of two horses, with the remains of a hicja. 

This description might be extended, but it would be tedious 
to repeat details of smaller and less interesting houses, the 
features of which present in general much uniformity ; and 
we shall therefore conclude this account of the more recent 
discoveries with a notice of a group of bodies found in this 
neighbourhood, the forms of which have been preserved to us 
through the ingenuity of Signor Fiorelli. 

It has been already remarked that the showers of lapillo, 
or iDumice-stone, by which Pompeii was overwhelmed and 
buried, were fijllowed by streams of a thick, tenacious mud, 
which flowing over the deposit of lapillo, and filling up all 
the crannies and interstices into which that substance had not 
been able to penetrate, completed the destruction of the city. 
Tlie objects over which this mud flowed were enveloped in it 


t76 


POMPEII. 



'i 


Plaster Casts of two Bodies. 
























































































































































PLASTER CASTS. 


477 

as in a plaster mould; and where these objects happened to 
be human bodies, their decay left a cavity in which their 
forms were as accurately preserved and rendered as in the 
mould prepared for the casting of a bronze statue. Such 
cavities had often been observed. In some of tliem remnants 
of charred wood, accompanied with bronze or other ornaments, 
showed that the object inclosed had been a piece of furniture ; 
while in others, the remains of bones and of articles of apparel 
evinced but too plainly that the hollow had been the living 
grave wdiich had swallowed up some unfortunate human 
being. In a happy moment tlie idea occurred to Signor 
Fiorelli of filling up these cavities with liquid plaster,°and 
thus obtaining a cast of the objects which had been inclosed 
in them. The experiment was first made in a small street 
leading from the Via del Balcone Pensile towards the Forum. 
The bodies here found were on the lapillo at a height of about 
fifteen feet from the level of the ground. The story of their 
discovery has been so admirably told in the article in the 
Quarterhj Beview before referred to,* that we shall again 
tresjiass on its pages. 

“ Among the first casts thus obtained were those of four 
human beings. They are now preserved in a room at 
Pompeii, f and more ghastly and painful, yet deeply interest¬ 
ing and touching objects, it is difficult to conceive. We have 
death itself moulded and cast—the very last struggle and 
final agony brought before us. They tell their story with a 
horrible dramatic truth that no sculptor could ever reach. 
They would have furnished a thrilling episode to the accom¬ 
plished author of the ‘ Last Days of PomjDeii.’ 

These four persons had perished in a street. They had 
remained within the shelter of their homes until the thick 
black mud began to creep through every cranny and chink. 
Driven from their retreat, they began to flee when it was too 
late. The streets were already buried deep in the loose 
pumice-stones which had been falling for many hours in un¬ 
remitting showers, and which reached almost to the windows 
of the first floor. These victims of the eruption were not 
found together, and they do not appear to have belonged to 
the same family or household. The most interesting of the 
No. 23 ), p. ;>82. 

t 1» the street leading to the Gate of Herculaneum. 


POMPEII. 


478 

casts is that of two women, probably mother and daughter, 
lying feet to feet. They appear from their garb to have been 
people of poor condition. The elder seems to lie tranquilly 
on her side. Overcome by the noxious gases, she probably 
fell and died without a struggle. Her limbs are extended, 
and her left arm drops loosely. On one finger is still seen 
her coarse iron ring. Her child was a girl of fifteen; she 
seems, poor thing, to have struggled hard for life. Her legs 
are drawn up convulsively ; her little hands are clenched in 
agony. In one she holds her veil, or a part of her dress, 
with which she had covered her head, burying her face in her 
arm, to shield herself from the falling ashes and from the 
foul sulphurous smoke. The form of her head is perfectly 
preserved. The texture of her coarse linen garments may be 
traced, and even the fashion of her dress, with its long sleeves 
reaching to her wrists; here and there it is torn, and the 
smooth young skin appears in the plaster like polished marble. 
On her tiny feet may still be seen her embroidered sandals. 

“ At some distance from this group lay a third woman. She 
appears to have been about twenty-five years of age, and to 
have belonged to a better class than the other two. On one 
of her fingers were two silver rings, and her garments were 
of a finer texture. Her linen head-dress, falling over her 
shoulders like that of a matron in a Eoman statue, can still 
be distinguished. She had fallen on her side, overcome by 
the heat and gases, but a terrible sti-uggle seems to have pre¬ 
ceded her last agony. One arm is raised in despair; the 
hands are clenched convulsively; her garments are gathered 
up on one side, leaving exposed a limb of beautiful shape. 
So perfect a mould of it has been formed by the soft and 
yielding mud, that the cast would seem to be taken from an 
exquisite work of Greek art. She had fled with her little 
treasure, which lay scattered around her—two silver cups, a 
few jewels, and some dozen silver coins; nor had she, like a 
good housewife, forgotten her keys, after having probably 
locked up her stores before seeking to escape. They were 
found by her side. 

“ The fourth cast is that of a man of the people, perhaps a 
common soldier. He is of almost colossal size; he lies on 
his back, his arms extended by his side and his feet stretched 
out as if, finding escape impossible, he had laid himself down 


LATEST EXCAVATION. 479 

to meet death like a brave man. His dress consists of a short 
coat or jerkin and tight-fitting breeches of some coarse stuff, 
perhaps leather; heavy sandals, with soles studded with 
nails, are laced tightly round his ankles. On one finger is 
seen his iron ring. His features are strongly marked, the 
moutli open, as in death. Some of the teeth still remain, and 
even part of the moustache adheres to the plaster. 

‘ The importancD of Signor Fiorelli’s discovery may be 
understood from the results we have described. It may 
furnish us with many curious particulars as to the dress and 
domestic habits of the Eomans, and with many an interesting 
episode of the last day of Pompeii. Had it been made at an 
earlier period we might perhaps have possessed the perfect 
cast of the Diomedes, as they clung together in their last 
struggle, and of other victims whose remains are now mingled 
together in the bone-house.” 

We shall conclude this account with stating that the house 
now excavating (February, 1866) nearly opposite the new 
baths, in a street leading out of the Via Stabiana, and forming 
a continuation of those of Abundance and of Holconius, 
appears to be one of considerable magnificence. The pave¬ 
ment before the entrance is raised, and is ascended by three 
steps. On entering a noble atrium presents itself, having an 
impluvium with no fewer than sixteen columns. On the 
right is a handsome lararium, purporting to be erected by two 
freedmen of Diadumenus. We await with much interest the 
excavation of this house, which promises to be among the 
handsomest of Pompeii. The following additional particu¬ 
lars have been kindly supplied by the editor of Murray’s 
‘ Handbook for South Italy.’ “ Three human skeletons have 
been discovered in this house, with their gold and silver 
ornaments—a very handsome gold ring set with an amethyst 
intaglio of an Abundance, a silver ring, a gold and silver 
bracelet, &c. The paintings in the room opening out of the 
t iblinum are graceful, and represent Apollo and certain 
Muses. Among the peculiarities of this house (besides the 
raised pavement) are the small porter’s lodge in the prothy- 
rum, and the four elongated windows, with bronze frame; 
for glass, in the rooms on each side of the entrance.” 


480 


POMPEII. 



Portico of the House of Diomedes, with a view of the Atrium beyond. 


CHAPTEE X. 

SUBUPBAN VILLA. 

The most interesting, and by far the most extensive of the 
private buildings yet discovered, is the Suburban Villa, as it 
is called, from its position a little way without the gates, in 
the Street of the Tombs, which led to, or formed part of, the 
suburb called Augustus Felix. Excavations were made in 
this part of the town in 1771, and the two or three following 
years, when this villa was discovered.* It is worthy of remark 
that the plan of this ed'fice is in close acccord with the de¬ 
scriptions of country houses given us by Vitruvius and others 
—a circumstance which tends strongly to confirm the belief 

* See Pomp, Ant. Hist., t. i. p. 257, s:q. 























r 






































































































































SUBURBAN VILLA. 


481 


already expressed, that the houses of the city are built upon 
tlie Eoman system of arrangement, although the Greek taste 
may predominate in their decoration. We will commence hy 
extracting the most important passages in Pliny the Younger’s 
description of his Laurentine villa, that the reader may have 
some general notion of the subject, some standard with which 
to compare that which we are about to describe. 

‘•My villa is large enough for convenience, though not 
splendid. The first apartment which presents itself is a plain, 
yet not mean, atrium ; then comes a portico, in shape like the 
letter 0, which surrounds a small, but pleasant area. This is 
an excellent retreat in bad weather, being sheltered by glazed 
windows,* and still more effectually by an overhanging roof. 
Opposite the centre of this portico is a pleasant cav^edium, 
after which comes a handsome triclinium, which projects upm 
the beach, so that when the south-west wind urges the sea, 
the last broken waves just dash against its walls. On every 
side of this room are folding doors, or windows equally large, 
so that from the three sides there is a view, as it were, of three 
seas at once, while backwards the eye wanders through the 
apartments already described, the cavasdium, portico, and 
atrium, to woods and distant mountains. To the left are 
several apartments, including a bedchamber, and room fitted 
up as a library, which jets out in an elliptic form, and, by its 
several windows, admits the sun during its whole course. 
These apartments I make my winter abode. The rest of this 
side of the house is allotted to my slaves and freedm^n, yet 
it is for the most part neat enough to receive my triends. 
To the right of the triclinium is a very elegant chamber, 
and another, which you may call either a very large chamber 
{cuhiculum), or moderate-sized eating-room (coenatio), which 
commands a full prospect both of the sun and sea. Passing 
hence, through three or four other chambers, you enter the cella 
frigidaria of the baths, in which there are two basins pro¬ 
jecting from opposite walls, abundantly large enough to swim 
in, if you feel inclined to do so in the first instance. Then 
come the anointing-room, the hypocaust, or furnace, and two 

* S) ecularibiis. Whether glass windows or talc windows (lapis specularis) 
weic meant, is a contiovertetl point. We are inclined to believe the latter, 
although glass windows were unque>tionably in n.se before the date of this letter, 
as is proveil bv the excavations of Keicuianeum and Pompeii. 

2 I 


POMPEII. 


482 

small rooms; next the warm bath, which commands an ad¬ 
mirable view of the sea. Not far off is the sphceristerium, a 
room devoted to in-door exercises and games, exposed to the 
hottest sun of the declining day. Beside it is a triclinium, 
where the noise of the sea is never heard but in a storm, and 
then faintly, looking out upon the garden and the gestatio, or 
place for taking the air in a carriage or litter, which encom¬ 
passes it. The gestatio is hedged with box, and with rose 
mary where the box is wanting; for box grows well where it 
is sheltered by buildings, but mthers when exposed in an 
open situation to the wind, and especially within reach of 
spray from the sea. To the inner circle of the gestatio is 
joined a shady walk of vines, soft and tender even to the 
naked feet. The garden is full of mulberries and figs, the 
soil being especially suited to the former. Within the circuit 
of the gestatio there is also a cryptoportico, for extent com¬ 
parable to public buildings, having Avindows on one side 
looking to the sea, on the other to the garden. In front of it 
is a xystus, fragrant with violets, where the sun’s heat is 
increased by reflection from the cryptoportico, which, at the 
same time, breaks the north-east wind. At either end of it is 
a suite of apartments, in which, in truth, I place my chief 
delight.”* Such was one of several villas described by Pliny. 
The directions given by Vitruvius for building country houses 
are very short. “ The same principles,” he says, “ are to be 
observed in country houses as in town houses, except that in 
the latter the atrium lies next to the door, but in pseudo- 
urban houses the peristyles come first, then atria surrounded 
by paved porticoes, looking upon courts for gymnastic exercises 
and walking ” (palcestras et amhulationes).^ It will appear 
that the distribution of the Suburban Villa was entirely in 
accordance with these rules. 

The house is built upon the side of the hill, in such a 
manner that the ground falls away, not only in the line of the 
street, across the breadth of the house, but also from the front 
to the back, so that the doorway itself being elevated from 
five to six feet above the roadway, there ds room at the back 

* Plin. Ep. lib. ii. 17. VVe have very much shortened the oiiginal, leaving 
out the description of, at least, one upper flooi', and other particulars which did 
uot appear necessary to the illustration of our subject. 

•i* Vitruvijas, vi. 8. 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 


483 


of tlie house for an extensive and magnificent suite of rooms 
between the level of the peristyle and the surface of the earth. 
These two levels are represented on the same plan, being dis¬ 
tinguished by a* difference in the shading. The darker parts 
show the walls of the upper floor, the lighter ones indicate 
the distribution of the lower. A further distinction is made 
in the references, which are by figures to the upper floor, and 
by letters to the lower. There are besides subterraneous 
vaults and galleries not expressed in the plan. 

1. Broad foot pavement raised nine inches or a foot above 
the carriage way, running along the whole length of the 
Street of Tombs. 2. Inclined planes, leading up to the porch 
on each side. 3. Entrance. 4. Peristyle. This arrangement 
corresponds exactly with the directions of Vitruvius for the 
building of country houses just quoted. The order of the 
peristyle is extremely elegant. The columns, their capitals, 
and entablatures, and the paintings on the walls are still in 
good preservation. The architectural decorations are worked 
in stucco ; and it is observed by Mazois that both here and in 
other instances the artist has taken liberties, which he would 
not have indulged in had he been working in more valuable 
materials. On this ground that eminent arcnitect hazards a 
conjecture that the plasterer had a distinct style of orna¬ 
menting, different from that of architects, or ot the masons in 
their employ. The lower third of the columns, which is not 
fluted, is painted red. The pavement was formed of ojnat 
Signinum. 5. Uncovered court with an impluvium, which 
collected the rain water and fed a cistern, whence the common 
household wants were supplied. 6. Descending staircase, 
which led to a court and building on a lower level, appre- 
priated to the offices, as the kitchen, bakehouse, .fee., and to 
the use of slaves. It will be recollected that the ground 
slopes with a rapid descent away from tha city gate. This 
lower story, therefore, was not under ground, though near 
eight feet below the level of the peristyle. It communicates 
with the road by a back door. From the bottom of the stair 
there runs a long corridor. A, somewhat indistinct in our 
small plan, owing to its being crossed several times by the 
dark lines of the upi^er floor, which leads down by a genth^ 
slope to the portico surrounding the garden. This was the 
back stair, as we should call it, by which the servants com- 


Se de of Enjlinh feet. 


484 


POMPEII, 



I 

Ground-plan of the SRburban Villa of Diomedes. 


<f 


I 





























































SUJiURBAN VILLA. 


485 

municated with that part of the house. There was another 
staircase, B, on the opposite side of the house, for the use of 
the family. 7. Door and passage to the upper garden, marked 
17, on the same level as the court. 8. Open hall, corre¬ 
sponding in position with a tablinum. Being thus placed 
between the court and the gallery, 28, it must have beer 
closed with folding doors of wood, which perhaps were glazed. 
9, 10, 11, 12. Various rooms containing nothing remarkable, 
13. Two rooms situated in the most agreeable manner at the 
two ends of a long gallery, 28, and looking out upon the upper 
terraces of the garden, from which the eye took in the whole 
gulf of Naples to the point of Sorrento, and the island cf 
Caprefe. 14. Procaeton, or antechamber. 15. Lodge of the 
cubicular slave, or attendant upon the bedroom. 16. Bed¬ 
room, probably that of the master, or else the state-cb amber. 
6. Alcove. Several rings were found here which had evidently 
belonged to a curtain to draw across the front of it. c. Hollow 
stand or counter of masonry, probably coated with stucco or 
marble, which served for a toilet-table. Several vases were 
found there, which must have contained perfumes or cosmetic 
oils. The form of this bedroom is very remarkable, and will 
not fail to strike the reader from its exact correspondence 
with the elliptic chamber or library deseribed by Pliny in his 
Laurentine villa. The windows in the semicircular end are 
so placed that they receive the rising, noontide, and setting 
sun. Bull’s eyes, placed above the windows, permitted them 
to be altogether closed without darkening the room entirely. 
These windows opened on a garden, where, in Mazois’ time, 
the care of the guardian had planted roses, which almost, 
beguiled him into the belief that he had found the genuine 
jiroduce of a Pompeian garden. This must have been a 
delightful room, from its ample size, elegance of ornament, 
and the quiet cheerful retirement of its situation. 17. Upper 
garden upon the level of the court. 

18. Entrance to the baths, which, though originally rare in 
private houses had become so common, long before the destruc¬ 
tion of Pompeii, that few wealthy persons were without them. 
The word balneum was peculiarly applied to domestic, thermce to 
public baths. This specimen, which fortunately was almost 
perfect, small as it is, suffices to give a good idea of the 
arrangement of private baths among the Homans. 19. Portico 


POMPEII. 


486 

upon two sides of a small triangular court. There is as miich 
skill in the disposition, as taste in the decoration, of this 
court, which presents a symmetrical plan, notwithstanding 
the irregular form of the space allotted to it. Its situation is 
conformable to the advice of Vitruvius; and as it could not 
front the west, it has been placed to the south. The columns 
of the portico are octagonal. At the extremity of the gallery, 
on the left of the entrance, there is a small furnace where 
was prepared some warm beverage or restorative for the use 
of the bathers, who were accustomed to take wine or cordials 
before they went away. Here a gridiron and two frying-pans 
were found, still blackened with smoke.* In the centre of 
the base, or third side of the court, is placed a bath, 20, about 
six feet square, lined with stucco, the edge of which is faced 
with marble. It was covered with a roof, the mark of which 
is still visible on the walls, supported by tw^o pillars placed 
on the projecting angles. The-.holes in the walls to admit 
the three principal beams are so contrived that each side is 
lined with a single brick. Under this covering the whole 
w'all was painted to represent w^ater, with fish and other 
aquatic anima'ls swimming about. The water was blue, and 
rather deep in colour ; the fish were represented in the most 
vivid and varied tints. Some years ago this painting re¬ 
covered, on being whetted, the original freshness and brilliancy 
of its colouring; but exposure to the weather has done its work, 
and now scarce a trace of it remains. In the middle of it 
there is a circular broken space to which a mask w^as formerly 
attached, through which a stream gushed into the basin below. 
Two or three steps led down to this baptisterium, where the 
cold bath was taken in the open air. This court and portico 
were paved in mosaic. 21. Apodyterium. 22. Frigidarium. 
23. Tepidarium. These two rooms, in neither of which was 
there a bathing vessel, show that frequently rooms thus named 
Avere not intended for bathing, but simply to preserve two 
intermediate gradations of temperatm*e, beWeen’ the burning 
heat of the caldarium or laconicum and the open air. In fact, 
no trace of any contrivance for the introduction or reception 
of Avater has been found in No, 22. It was simply a cold 
chamber, cella frigidaria. Nor was the little chamber, 23, 


* Bonucci. 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 


487 


large enough to reeeive conveniently a bathing vessel; but 
seats of wood were found there for the convenience of those 
who had quitted the bath, and who came there to undergo 
the discipline of the strigil, and that minute process of puri¬ 
fication and anointing which we have before described. This 
room is not above twelve feet by six; the bath, therefore, 
could not have b(^en calculated for the reception of more than 
one, or, at most, of two persons at once. Here the great question 
relative to the use of glass windows by the ancients was 
finally settled. This apartment was lighted by a window 
closed by a moVeable frame of wood, which, though converted 
into charcoal, still held, when it was found, four panes of glass 
about six inches square. A more elaborate and curious glass 
window was found at a later period in the public baths.—- 
See p. 160, Part I. 24. Caldarium. It might, however, be 
employed at pleasure as a tepid or cold I ath, when the weather 
was too cold for bathing in the open air. dhe suspensura 
caldariorum, as Vitruvius calls the hollow walls and floors 
raised upon pillars, are in remarkably good preservation. By 
means of these the whole apartment was entirely enveloped 
in flame, and might be easily raised to a most stifling tem¬ 
perature. We have fully described the method of constructing 
these in the chapter upon the public baths, p. 170, and need 
not here repeat what has been said. We will however add, 
that Vitruvius directs a bed of clay mixed with hair to be 
laid between the pillars and the pavement; and some tradition 
of this custom may be imagined to subsist, for the potters of the 
country, in some cases, work up wool with their clay, a practice 
unknown elsewhere, as we believe, in the art of pottery. The 
burning vapour passed out above the ceiling, gaining no 
entrance into the apartment. Air and light were admitted by 
two windows, one higher than the other. In one of these 
Mazois found a fragment of glass. The bathing vessel, 6*, 
lined with stucco, and coated on the outside with marble, was 
fed by two cocks, which must have been very small, to judge 
from the space which they occupied. Hence hot and cold 
water were supplied at pleasure ; and it was only to fill the 
vessel with boiling water, and the w'hole apartment would be 
converted into one great vapour bath. As it would have been 
difficult or impossible to have kept alive a lamp or torch in 
so dense a steam, there is near the door a circular hole, closed 


48S 


POMPEII. 


formerly by a glass, which served to admit the light of a 
lamp placed in the adjoining chamber. The hypocaust, or 
furnace and apparatus, 25, for heating the water, are so 
2 )laced that they cannot be seen from the triangular court. 
They are small, but correspond with the small quantity of 
boiling water which they were required to furnish, /. Stone 
table, g. Cistern. h. Mouth of hypocaust. i. A furnace, 
probably for boiling water when merely a tepid bath was re¬ 
quired, without heating the suspensura caldariorum. By the 
side of the hypocaust were placed the vases for hot and cold 
water, as described in the chapter on Baths: their pedestals 
were observable between the mouth of the furnace and the 
letter h. 1. Wooden staircase, no longer in existence, which 
led to the apartments above. 26. Reservoir. 

Such was the distribution of this bath. Some paintings 
and mosaics, which are ordinary enough, formed its only 
decorations; yet, from the little that remains, we can 
discover that the good taste which reigned everywhere, and 
the freshness of the colours, must have rendered the effect of 
the whole most agreeable. 

27. This chamber seems to have been used as a wardrobe, 
where the numerous garments of the opulent masters of this 
dwelling were kept under presses, to give them a lustre. 
This conjecture is founded upon the remains of calcined 
stuffs, and the fragments of wardi'obes and carbonised plank 
found in the course of excavation. 2 Great gallery, lighted 
by windows which looked upon the two terraces, 34, sej)arated 
by the large hall, 33.* This gallery furnished an agreeable 
promenade, when the weather did not permit the enjoyment of 
the external porticoes or terraces. 29, 29. These two small 
apartments, which 'were open to the gallery, and probably 
were closed by glass, may very well have been, one a library, 
tlic other a reading-room, since the place in which books 
were kept was not usually the place in which they were read : 
being small and confined, suitable to the comparatively small 
number of volumes which an ancient library generally con¬ 
tained, and also to the limited space within which a con¬ 
siderable number of rolls of papyrus might be placed. A 
bust, painted on the w'all of one of them, confirms this 
supposition, for it is known that the ancients were fond of 
keeping the portraits of eminent men before their eyes, and 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 


489 

especially of placing those of literary men in their libraries. 
30. The form of this hall is suitable to a triclinium, and its 
situation, protected from the immediate action of the sun’s 
rays, would seem'to maik it as a summer triclinium. Still 
the guests enjoyed the view of the country and of the sea, 
by means of a door opening upon the terrace. In front of 
the little chamber, 31, is a square opening for the staircase, 
which descends to the point B upon the floor below. It is 
to be remarked, that at the entrance of each division of the 
building there is a lodge for a slave. No doubt each suite 
of rooms had its peculiar keeper. The chamber, 10, seems 
to have been reserved for the keeper of the peristyle ; the 
apartment, 15, belonged to the slave of the bedchamber, who 
watched tlm 'apartment of his master; a recess under the 
staircase, 35, was, without doubt, the place of the atriensis, 
or attendant on the atrium, when the hall, 8, was open, to 
give admission to the interior of the house ; and when this 
hall was closed, he attended in the chamber, 12, which 
commanded the entrance through the passage, or fauces. 
Lastly, the small lodge, 31, is so placed as to keep watch 
over all communication between the upper floor, where is the 
peristyle, and the lower floor, in which the apartments of the 
family seem to have been chiefly situated. 32. Apartment, 
entirely ruined, to which it is difiicult to assign a name. 
33. Large cyzicene oecus, about thirty-six feet by twenty-six. 
All the windows of this apartment opened almost to the level 
of the floor, and gave a view of the garden, the terraces and 
trellises which ornamented them, as well as of the vast and 
beautiful prospect towards the sea and Vesuvius. 34. Large 
terraces, perhaps formerly covered with trellises, which 
communicate with the terraces over the gallery by which the 
garden is surrounded. 35. Staircase leading to the upper 
floor, on which may have been the gynaeceum, or suite of 
apartments belonging to the women. So retired a situation, 
however, did not always suit the taste of the Eoman ladies. 
Cornelius Nepos says that “ they occupy for the most part 
the first floor in the front of the house.” Mazois was long 
impressed with the idea that there must have been an upper 
story here, but for a long time he could not find the staircase. 
At last he discovered in this place marks in the plaster, 
which left no doubt in his mind but that it had existed here, 


POMPEII. 


490 

though being of wood it disappeared with the (>thor wood¬ 
work. He recognized the inclination and the height of the 
steps, and found that they were high and narrow, like those 
stone stairs which exist still in the same dwelling. 36. A 
sort of vestibule at the entrance of the building, appropriated 
to the offices. This lower court probably contained the 
kitchen. 31. Bakehouse, apartments of the inferior slaves, 
stables, and other accessories. These are separated from the 
main building by means of a mesaulon, or small internal 
court, to diminish the danger in case of a fire happening in 
the kitchen or bakehouse. There were two ways of com¬ 
munication from the level of the street to the level of the 
garden ; on one side by the corridor. A, A, principally 
reserved for the servants, on the other by the staircase, B. 
C, C, C. Portico round the garden. The side beneath the 
house and that at the right of the plan are perfectly pre¬ 
served, but it has been found necessary to support the 
terrace on this side by inserting a modern pillar between 
each of the old ones, and to build two massive piers beneath 
the terrace on which the great cyzicene hall is situated. 
This portico was elegantly ornamented. If we may judge of 
the whole from a part, which is given by Mazois, the interior 
entablature was ornamented with light mouldings and run¬ 
ning patterns, while there was a little picture over each pillar. 
That in his plate represents a swan flying away with a 
serpent. The pillars were square, the lower part painted 
with flowers springing from trellises, apparently of very 
delicate execution. The same style of painting occurs in 
the court of the baths. The ceiling of the portico beneath 
the terrace is, in respect of its construction, one of the most 
curious specimens of ancient building which have reached 
our time. It is a plane surface of masonry, hung in the air, 
supported neither on the principle of the arch, nor by iron 
cramps, but owing its existence entirely to the adherence of 
the mortar by which it is cemented. It is divided into 
compartments by false beams (caissons) of the same con¬ 
struction. The whole is of remarkable solidity. D. Open 
hall at the end of the western portico. E. Fountain, supplied 
perhaps by the water of the cistern. There was formerly a 
well upon the terrace, 34, by which water might be drawn 
from the reservoir of this fountain, but it was effaced when 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 


491 


the area of the terrace was restored. F, F, F. Different 
chambers, halls, triclinium, in which the remains of a carpet 
were found on the floor, and other rooms, to which it is 
difficult to assign any particular destination. They are all 
decorated in the most elegant and refined manner, but their 
paintings are hastening to decay with a rapidity which is 
grievous to behold. Fortunately the Academy of Naples has 
published a volume of details, in which the greater part of 
the frescos of this villa are engraved. G. Passage, leading 
by the staircase B to the upper floor, and by the staircase 
H to the subterranean galleries. There is a similar stair¬ 
case, H, on the other side of the portico. These galleries 
form a crypt beneath the portico, lighted and aired by loop¬ 
holes on the level of the ground. Amphorae, placed in sand 
against the wall, are still to be seen there, and for this 
reason it has been conjectured that the crypt served the 
purposes of a cellar; but even this crypt was coarsely 
painted. I. Mesaulon, or court, which separates the offices 
from the house. K. Small room at the extremity of the 
garden. L. An oratory ; the niche served to receive a little 
statue. M. Xystus, or garden. N. Piscina, with a jet d’eau. 
0. Enclosure covered with a trellis. P. Door to the country, 
and towards the sea. Q. This enclosure, about fifteen feet 
wide, appears to have been covered with a trellis, and must 
have been much frequented, since there is a noble flight of 
steps leading down to it from the upper garden, it fronted 
the south, and must have been a delightful winter promenade. 

We have given, as a Frontispiece to this Part, a general 
view of this delightful abode as it now exists, taken from 
the surface of the ground behind the garden portico.* The 
parts of it need little explanation after the minute account 
already given. The arch to the left is the end of the open 
hall, I), above the portico; on each side are the terraces, 34, 
34, and in the centre are the remains of the cyzicene hall. 
Beneath, on the level of the portico, are the several rooms 
marked F, probably the chief summer abode of the family, 
being well adapted to that purpose by their refreshing 
coolness. Their ceilings for the most part are semicircular 
vaults, richly painted, and the more valuable because few 

* Some of the surrounding accessoiies are now altered, from the progress of 
the excavations. 


POMPEn. 


492 

ceilings have been found in existence. We should attempt 
in vain to describe the complicated subjects, the intricate 
and varied patterns with which the fertile fancy of the ara¬ 
besque painter has clothed the walls and ceilings, Avithout 
the aid of drawings, which Ave are unable to give; and, 
indeed, coloured plates would be requisite to convey an 
adequate notion of their effect. In the splendid work which 
Mr. Donaldson has published upon Pompeii, several subjects 
taken from these rooms will be found, some of them coloured, 
together Avith eight mosaics, some of very complicated, all of 
elegant design; and to this and similar Avorks Ave must refer 
the further gratification of the reader’s curiosity.* 

Such Avas this mansion, in AA^hich no doubt the owner took 
pride and pleasure, to judge from the expense lavished with 
unsparing hand on its decoration ; and if he could be supposed 
to have any cognizance of what is now passing on earth, his 
vanity might find some consolation for having been prema- 
turelv deprived of it, in the posthumous celebrity Avhich it 
has obtained. But his taste and Avealth have done nothing 
to perpetuate his name, for not a trace remains that can 
indicate to Avhat person or to what family it belonged. It 
is indeed usually called the Villa of Marcus Arrius Diomedes, 
on the strength* of a tomb discovered about the same period 
immediately opposite to it, bearing that name. No other 
tomb had then been discovered so near it, and on this 
coincidence of situation a conclusion was draAAm that this 
must have been a family sepulchre, attached to the house, 
and, by consequence, that the house itself belonged to 
Diomedes. The conjecture at the outset rested but on a 
sandy foundation, AAdiich has since been entirely sapped by 
the discovery of numerous other tombs almost equally near. 
All that Ave knoAV of the owner or his family may be com¬ 
prised in one sentence, Avhich, short as it is. speaks forcibly 
to our feelings. Their life Avas one of elegant luxury and 
enjoyment, in the midst of Avhich death came on them by 
surprise, a death of singular and lingering agony. 

When Vesuvius first showed signs of the coming storm 
the air AA^as still, as we learn from the description of Pliny, 
and the smoke of the mountain rose up straight, until the 

* Louis I. of Bavaria caused a perfect copy of this villa, even in its smallest 
details, to be erected at Aschatfenburg.—E d. 


SUBUR3AN VILLA. 


498 

atmosphere would bear it no higher, and then spread on all 
sides into a canopy, suggesting to him the idea of an enormous 
pine tree. After this a wind sprung up from the west, which 
was favourable to carry Pliny from Misenum to StabisB, hut pre¬ 
vented his return. The next morning probably it veered some¬ 
thing to the north, when, in the younger Pliny’s words, a cloud 
seemed to descend upon the earth, to cover the sea, and hide 
the Isle of Capreae from his view. The ashes are said by 
Dion Cassius to have reached Egypt, and in fact a line 
drawn south-east from Vesuvius would pass very near Pompeii, 
and cut Egypt. It was probably at this mouient that the 
hail of fire fell thickest at Pompeii, at daybreak ou the 
second morning, and if any had thus long survived the stifling 
air and torrid earth which surrounded them, their misery 
probably was at this moment brought to a close. The villa 
of which we speak lay exactly between the city and the 
mountain, and must have felt the first, and, if there w^ere 
degrees of misery, where all perished alike, the worst effects 
of this fearful visitation. Fearful is such a visitation in the 
present day, even to those who crowd to see an eruption of 
Vesuvius as they would to a picture-gallery or an opera : 
how much more terrible, accompanied by the certainty of 
impending death, to those whom neither history nor expe¬ 
rience had familiarized with the most awful phenomenon 
presented by nature. At this, or possibly at an earlier 
moment, the love of life proved too strong for the social 
affections of the owner of the house. He fled, abandoning to 
their fate a numerous family, and a young and beautiful 
daughter, and bent his way, with his most j^recious move¬ 
ables, accompanied only by a single slave, to the sea, which 
he never reached alive. His daughter, two children, and 
other members of his family and household sought protection 
in the subterranean vaults, which, by the help of the wdne- 
jars already stored there, and the j)rovisions which they 
brought down with them, they probably considered as suf¬ 
ficient refuge against an evil of which they could not guess 
the whole extent. It was a vain hope : the same fate awaited 
them all by different ways. The strong vaults and narrow 
openings to the day protected them, indeed, from the falling 
cinders; but the heat, sufficient to char w'ood, and volatilize 
the more subtle part of the ashes, could not be kept out by 


POMPEII. 


494 : 

such means. The vital air was changed into a sulphurous 
vapour, charged with burning dust. In their despair, longing 
for the pure breath of heaven, they rushed to the door, already 
choked with scoriae and ruins, and perished in agonies on 
which the imagination does not willingly dwell. 

This the reader will probably be inclined to think might 
do very well for the conclusion of a romance, but why invent 
such sentimental stories to figure in a grave historical account ? 
It is a remarkable instance, perhaps the strongest which has 
yet occurred, of the peculiar interest which the discoveries at 
Pompeii possess, as introducing us to the homes, nay, to the 
very persons of a long-forgotten age, that every circumstance 
of this tale can be verified by evidence little less than con¬ 
clusive. Beside the garden gate, marked P, two skeletons 
were found 5 one, presumed to be the master, had in his hand 
the key of that gate, and near him were about a hundred 
gold and silver coins; the other, stretched beside some silver 
vases, was probably a slave charged with the transport of 
them. When the vaults beneath the room, D, were discovered 
at the foot of the staircase, H, the skeletons of eighteen adult 
persons, a boy, and an infant were found huddled up together, 
unmoved during seventeen centuries since they sank in 
death.* They were covered by several feet of ashes of 
extreme fineness, evidently slowly borne in through the 
vent-holes, and afterwards consolidated by damp. The 
substance thus formed resembles the sand used by metal 
founders for castings, but is yet more delicate, and took 
perfect impressions of everything on which it lay. Unfortu¬ 
nately this property was not observed until almost too late, 
and little was preserved except the neck and breast of a girl, 

' which are said to display extraordinary beauty of form. So 
exact is the impression, that the very texture of the dress in 
which she was clothed is apparent, which by its extraordinary 
fineness evidently shows that she had not been a slave, and 
may be taken for the fine gauze which Seneca calls woven 
wind. On other fragments the impression of jewels worn on 
the neck and arms is distinct, and marks that several members 

♦ See Pomp. Ant. Hist, t. i. p. 268, Dec. 12, 1772. Ten other skeletonf^ 
were found at various tunes in or near the house. See the account of the 
excavations in Pomp. Ant. Hist. (1771, March 9 ; 1773, feb. 6, 13 May 29 ; 
1774, July 30 ; Oct. 29 ; Nov. 5 ).—Ed. 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 495 

of the family here perished. The jewels themselves were 
found beside them, comprising, in gold, two necklaces, one 
set with blue stones, and four rings, eontaining engraved 
gems. ^ Two of the skeletons belonged to children, and some 
ol their blond hair was still existent; most of them are said 
to have been recognized as female. Each sex probably acted 
in conformity to its character, the men trusting to their own 
strength to escape, the women waiting with patience the 
issue of a danger from which their own exertions could not 
save them. 

^ In the same vault bronze candelabra, and other articles, 
jewels, and coins were found. Amphoiv^ were also found 
ranged against the wall, in some of which the contents, dried 
and hardened by time, were still preserved. Archjeologists, 
it IS said, pretend to recognize in this substance the flavour 
of the rich strong wine for which the neighbourhood of 
Vesuvius is celebrated."^ 

Besides the interior garden within the portico, there must 
have been another garden extending along the southern side 
of the house. The passage from the peristyle, 7, the position 
of the elliptic chamber, 16, and the trellis work, Q, with its 
spacious steps, leave no doubt on this subject. It has been 
stated in a German periodical that traces of the ploughshare 
have been distinguished in the flelds adjoining this villa. 
This is the only authority we have for supposing that the 
process of excavation has been extended at all beyo nd the 
house itself. The garden to the south is still, to the best of 
our information, uncleared, nor is it likely that it contains 
objects of sufficient interest to recompense the labour which 
would be consumed in laying it open. Our limited knowledge 
of ancient horticulture is not therefore likely to be increased 
by means of Pompeii; for such small flow er-jilots as are 

* Sir Thomas Brown would have rejoiced in such an opportunity “ Some 
fine sepulcrali vessels containing liquors which time hath incrassated into 
jellies. For besides their lachiymatoiies, notable lamps, with vessels of oil 
and aromaticall liquors attended noble Ossuaries. And some yet retaining 
a vinosity and spirit in them, which if any have tasted, thev have' far exceeded 
the palates of Antiquity. Liquors not to be computed by years of annual 
magistrates, but by great conjunctions, and the fatal periods of kingdoms. 
The draughts of consulary date were but crude unto these, and Opimian wine 
but in the must unto them.”—Ilydriotaphia, A treatise on Urne Burial I. 
chap. iii. 


496 


POMPEII. 


attached to houses within the town cannot contain anything 
worth notice beyond a fountain or a summer triclinium. 
We will do our best, however, to complete the reader’s notion 
of an Italian villa, and show what might have been, since we 
cannot show what has been here, by borrowing Pliny’s 
account of the garden attached to his Tuscan villa, the only 
account of a Eoman garden which has come dowm to us. 

“ In front of the house lies a spacious hippodrome,* entirely 
open in the middle, by wdiich means the eye, upon your first 
entrance, takes in its w^hole extent at one view. It is 
encompassed on every side with plane trees covered wdth ivy, 
so that while their heads flourish with their own green, their 
bodies enjoy a borrow'ed verdm'o ; and thus the ivy twining 
round the trunk and branches, spreads from tree to tree and 
connects them together. Between each plane tree are placed 
box trees, and behind these, bay trees, wd \ch blend their 
shade with that of the planes. This jdantation, forming a 
straight boundary on both sides of the hippodrome, bends at 
the further end into a semicircle, which, being set round and 
sheltered with cypresses, casts a deeper and more gloomy 
shade ; while the inw^ard circular w'alks (for there are several) 
enjoying an open exposure, are full of roses, and correct the 
coolness of the shade by the wnrmth of the sun. Having 
passed through these several winding alleys,f you enter a 
straight w'alk, which breaks out into a variety of others, 
divided by box edges. In one place you have a little 
meadow; in another, the box is cut into a thousand different 
forms, sometimes into letters; here expressing the name of 
the master, there that of the artificer ; wdiile here and there 
little obelisks rise, intermixed with fruit trees; when on a 
sudden, in the midst of this elegant regularity, you are 
surprised with an imitation of the negligent beauties of rural 
nature, in the centre of which lies a spot surrounded with a 
knot of dwarf j)lane trees.| Beyond this is a walk, inter- 

* Hippodrome was, in its proper meaning, a place lor horse-racing: the 
Greek name for a circus. Being open, it may have been used for horse, as 
the gestatio was used for cai riage exei cise; but it seems moie probable that 
here it was merely a walk, so called from its oblong form, rounded at the end. 

t Here the garden itself seems properly to begin 

X The plane tree was highly valued for its shade, on which account it was 
a favourite tree with boon companions. Virgil speaks of it as “ ministrantem 
-notantibus umbras.”—Georg. 4. The Komans, e.\travagaut in all their 


SUBURBAN VILLA. 


497 

spersed with the smooth and twining acanthus, where the 
trees are also cut into a variety of names and shapes. At the 
upper end is an alcove of white marble, shaded with vines, 
supported by four small columns of Carystian mai’ble. Here 
is a triclinium, out of which the water, gushing through 
several little pipes, as if it were pressed out by the weight of 
the persons who repose upon it, falls into a stone cistern 
underneath, from whence it is received into a fine polished 
marble basin, so artfully contrived that it is always full 
without ever overflowing. When I sup here, this basin serves 
for a table, the larger sort of dishes being placed round the 
margin, while the smaller swim about in the form of little 
vessels and water-fowl. Corresponding to this is a fountain, 
which is incessantly emptying and filling; for the water, 
which it throws up to a great height, falling back again into 
it, is returned as fast as it is received, by means of two 
openings. Fronting the alcove stands a summer-house of 
exquisite marble, whose doors project and open into a green 
enclosure, while from its upper and lower windows also the 
eye is presented with a variety of different verdures. Next to 
this is a little private closet, which, though it seems distinct, 
may be laid into the same room, furnished with a couch ; and 
notwithstanding it has windows on every side, yet it enjoys a 
very agreeable gloominess, by means of a spreading vine, 
which climbs to the top and entirely overshades it. Here 
you may lie and fancy yourself in a wood, with this differ¬ 
ence only, that you are not exposed to the weather. In this 
place a fountain also rises, and instantly disappears. In 
different quarters are disposed several marble seats, which 
serve, as well as the summer-house, as so many reliefs after 
one is tired of walking. Near each seat is a little fountain, 
and throughout the whole hippodrome several small rills run 
murmuring along, wheresoever the hand of art thought 
proper to conduct them, watering here and there different 
spots of verdure, and in their progress refreshing the whole.’’* 


likings, used to moisten the roots with wine, believing that it thrived best on 
that liquor. There was a famous one in Ljcia, hollow with age, the trunk of 
which was eighty-one Roman feet in circumference within, which was the 
favourite feasting-place of a Roman proconsul, Licinius Mutianus.—Plin. xii. 1. 
Xerxes presented a gold cup to a plane tiee in L 3 'dia.—Heiol. vii. 31. 

* Plin. Epist. V. 6 ; Melmoth’s translation. 

2 K 




498 


POMPEII. 


Between this villa and the city there is another, which was 
excavated at different times between 1749 and 1778, and filled 
up again when the valuable things found in it had been 
removed, in conformity with the general practice at that 
time, to prevent the proprietors being injured by the loss of 
ground. Several admirable mosaics and some fine frescoes 
were found in it. We find mentioned the celebrated paintings 
of the eight female dancers; the fom* groups of the Centaurs ; 
and the Funambuli, or rope-dancers, which decorated an 
eating-room. Hence, too, were taken the two mosaics with 
the name of Dioscorides of Samos inscribed upon them, one 
of which has been described. Both represent comic scenes, 
and, according to Winckelmann, deserve the preference even 
over the celebrated ancient Roman mosaic of the doves, which 
has hitherto been in such high esteem. 

The general arrangement of this villa resembles that which 
we have just described; but it is on a still larger scale, and 
from the richness ol the decorations evidently belonged to 
one of the chief persons of the place. It is usually called 
the Villa of Cicero, who certainly possessed a house near 
Pompeii, of w'hich continual mention is made in his letters; 
but there is no evidence whatever to identify fhis as his abode. 
It has also been sometimes called the Baths of M. Crassus 
Frugi, from an inscription found in it. The front to the 
street is occupied by a row of shops, with an arcade before 
them. At the end nearest the town is a large reservoir of 
rain water for the use of the house. Next to it is the' 
entrance, from which a very long passage or vestibule, with 
numerous apartments on each side, supposed to have been 
stables and other offices, led into the Corinthian atrium. 
Beyond and around this were numerous rooms for the use of 
the family, galleries and terraces commanding a view of the 
sea. At a lower level is a covered portico, resembling in its 
plan that of the Suburban Villa, and nearly cf the same 
extent. Above the portico was formed a terrace, which still 
exists, and commands a fine view both of the sea and land. 
The court within it was a xystus, or garden. Between this 
portico and the street is another large court of irregular 
figure, containing several large basins built in masonry. The 
information which has been preserved concerning this house 
is very scanty, in consequence of the early period at which it 
was reinterred. 


499 


CHAPTER XI. 

TOMBS. 

Before commencing our description of the tombs which line 
the way as the visitor approaches from Naples, and seem to 
prepare him for that funereal silence which reigns in the 
long-lost city, the more remarkable for its contrast with the 
gay and festive style of decoration which still characterizes 
the remains which surround him, it is our intention, as w'e 
have done in other instances, to give some general information 
upon the subject which we are about to treat in detail, for 
the benefit of those among our readers to whom the forms of 
Roman burial and the expressions of Roman sorrow are un¬ 
familiar. 

Great, absurdly great among the uneducated, as is the 
importance attached to a due performance of the rites of 
burial in the present day, it is as nothing compared to the 
interest which was felt on this subject by the Romans; and 
not by them only, but by other nations of antiquity, with 
whose mannei’s we have nothing to do here. The Romans 
indeed had a good reason for this anxiety, for they believed, 
in common with the Greeks, that if the body remained unen¬ 
tombed, the soul wandered for a hundred years on the hither 
side of the Styx, alone and desponding, unable to gain ad¬ 
mission to its final resting-place, whether among the happy or 
the miserable. If, therefore, any person perished at sea, or 
otherwise under such circumstances that his body could not 
be found, a cenotaph, or empty tomb, was erected by his 
surviving friends, which served as well for his passport over 
tlie Stygian ferry as if his body had been burnt or committed 
to the earth with due ceremonies. Hence it became a re¬ 
ligious duty, not rashly to be neglected, to scatter earth over 
any unburied body which men chanced to see, for even so 
slight a sepulchre as this was held sufficient to appease the 
scruples of the infernal gods. The reader, if there be any 
readers of Latin to whom these superstitions are unfamiliar, 
may refer to the sixth book of the .^neid, line 325, and to a 


POMPEII. 


500 

remarkable ode of Horace, tbe 28tb of the first book, wbicb 
turns entirely upon this subject. Jiurial, therefore, was a 
matter of considerable importance. 

When death approached, the nearest relative hung over the 
dying person, endeavouring to inhale his last breath, in a 
fond belief that the anima, the living principle, departed at 
that moment, and by that passage from the body. Hence the 
phrases, animam in ^rimo ore tenere, spiritum excipere, and the 
like. It is curious to observe how an established form of 
expression holds its ground. Here are we, after the lapse of 
eighteen hundred years, still talking of receiving a dying 
friend’s last breath, as if we really meant what we ray. After 
death the body was washed and anointed by persons called 
pollinctores ; then laid out on a bier, the feet to the door, to 
typify its approaching departure, dressed in the best attire 
which it had formerly owned. The bier was often decked 
with leaves and fiowers, a simple and touching tribute of 
affection, which is of the heart, and speaks to it, and therefore 
has maintained its ground in every age and region, unaffected 
by the constant changes in customs merely arbitrary and con¬ 
ventional. 

In the early ages of Eome the rites of burial and burning 
seem to have been alike in use. Afterwards the former seems 
(for the matter is not very clear) to have prevailed, until 
towards the close of the seventh century of the city, after the 
death of Sylla, who is said to have been the first of the patri¬ 
cian Cornelii who was burnt.* Thenceforward corpses were 
almost universally consumed by fire until the establishment 
of Christianity, when the old fashion was brought up again, 
burning being violently opposed by the fathers of the church, 
probably on account of its intimate connection with Pagan 
associations and superstitions. Seven days, we are told, 
elapsed between death and the funeral; on the eighth the 
corpse was committed to the fiames; on the ninth the ashes 
were deposited in the sepulchre. This probably refers only 
to the funerals of the great, where much splendour and extent 
of preparation was required, and especially those public 
funerals (funera indictiva) to which the whole people were 
bidden by voice of crier, the ceremony being often closed by 


* Cic. ’ e g. ii. 22. 


TOMBS. 


501 


theatrical and gladiatorial exhibitions, and a sumptuous 
banquet. But we have no intention to narrate the pomp 
which accompanied the princely nobles of Home to the 
tomb : it is enough for our purpose to explain the usages of 
pri rate life, to which the Street of Tombs owes its origin and 
its interest. 

In the older times funerals were celebrated at night 
because the rites of religion were celebrated by day; and it 
was pollution for the ministers, or for anything connected 
with worship of the deities of the upper world, even to see, 
much more to touch, anything connected with death. From 
this nightly solemnization many of the words connected with 
this subject are derived. Those who bore the bier were 
called originally Vesperones, thence Vespillones, from Vespera. 
evening ; and the very term funus is derived by grammarians, 
a funalibus, from the rope torches coated with wax or tallow 
which continued to be used long after the necessity for using 
them ceased.* This practice, now far more than two thou¬ 
sand years old, is still retained in the Koman Church, 
with many other ceremonies borrowed from heathen rites. 
St. Chrysostom assures us that it is not of modern revival, 
and gives a beautiful reason for its being retained. “ Tell 
me,” he says, “ what mean those brilliant lamps ? Do we not 
go forth with the dead on their way rejoicing, as with men 
who have fought their fight?”! 

The corpse being placed upon a litter (letica) or bier 
(sandapila), the former being used by the wealthy, the latter 
by the poor, was carried out (efferebatur) preceded by instru¬ 
mental musicians (siticines), and female singers (prceficce), who 
chanted the dirge {neriia). These hired attendants, whose 
noisy sorrow was as genuine as the dumb grief of our mutes, 
were succeeded, if the deceased were noble, or distinguished 
by personal exploits, by numerous (touches containing the 
family effigies of his ancestors, each by itself, that the length 
of his lineage might be the more conspicuous ; by the images 
of such nations as he had conquered, such cities as he had 
taken; by the spoils which he had won; by the ensigns of 

* Thus'I'aoitus, Plena urbis itinera, collucentes per campum Martis faces.— , 
Ann. iii. 4. 

t (LOi .—Tt ^ovKovrai at KoftiraSe^ at ^atSpat; ovk w? <x0AjjTas avTOVi (tous 

redmiKoras^ vponep.irop.ev • Clirysost. Hom. iv. ad Herb. 


502 


POMPEII. 


the magistracies which he had filled; but if the fasces were 
among them these were borne reversed. Then came the 
slaves whom he had emancipated (and often with a view to 
this post-mortem magnificence, a master emancipated great 
numbers of them), wearing hats in token of their manumis¬ 
sion. Behind the corpse came the nearest relations, profuse 
in the display of grief as far as it can be shown by weeping, 
howling, beating the breasts and cheeks, and tearing the hair, 
which was laid, as a last tribute of affection, on the breast of 
the deceased, to be consumed with him.* To shave the head 
was also a sign of mourning. It is a curious inversion of the 
ordinary customs of life, that the sons of the deceased 
mourned with the head covered, the daughters with it bare. 

With this attendance the body was borne to the place of 
burial, being usually carried through the Forum, where, if 
the deceased had been a person of any eminence, a funeral 
oration was spoken from the rostra in his honour. The place 
of burial was without the city, in almost every instance. 
By the twelve tables it was enacted that no one should be 
burnt or buried within the city ; and as this wholesome law 
fell into disuse, it was from time to time revived and enforced. 
The reasons for its establishment were twofold, religious 
and civil. To the former head belongs the reason, already 
assigned for a different observance, that the very sight of 
things connected with death brought pollution on things con¬ 
secrated to the gods of the upper world. So far was this 
carried that the priest of Jupiter (Flamen Dialts) might not 
even enter any place where there was a tomb, or so much as 
hear the funeral pipes; nay, his wife, the Flaminica, might 
not wear shoes made of the hide of an ox which had died a 
natural death, because all things which had died spontaneously 
were of ill omen.f Besides, it was an ill omen to any one 
to come upon a tomb unawares. Another reason was that 
the public convenience might not be interrupted by private 

* Thus Ovid, speaking of Phaeton— 

-Planxere sorores 

Naiades, et sectos fratri imposuere capillos.—Met. iii 

Seneca also alludes to the custom :— 

Placemus umbras ; capitis exuvia cape, 

Laceraeq : frontis accipe abscissam comam. 

Phaedra. Act. i. sc. 1. 

t Quoniam sua morte extincta omnia funesta sunt.—Fest. 



TOMBS. 


503 

rites, since no tombs could be removed without sacrilege 
when once established, unless by the state, upon sufficient 
cause.* The civil reasons are to be sought in the unwhole¬ 
some exhalations of large burying-grouiids, and the danger of 
fire from burning funeral piles in the neighbourhood of 
houses. It is not meant, however, that there were no tombs 
within the city. Some appear to have been included by the 
gradual extension of the w'alls; others were established in 
those intervals when the law of the twelve tables fell, as we 
have said, into desuetude ; nor does it appear that these w^ere 
destroyed, nor their contents removed. Thus both the 
Claudian and the Ciiician clans had sepulchres in Eome, the 
former under the Capitol.f 

If the family were of sufficient consequence to have a pa¬ 
trimonial tomb the deceased was laid in it; if he had none 
such, and was wealthy, he usually constructed a tomb upon 
his property during life, or bought a piece of ground for the 
purpose. If possible the tomb was always placed near a 
road. Hence the usual form of inscription, Siste, Viator 
(Stay, Traveller), continually used in churches by those 
small wits who thought that nothing could be good English 
whicli was not half Latin, and forgot that in our country the 
traveller must have stayed already to visit the sexton, before 
he can possibly do so in compliance with the advice of the 
monument. For the poor there were public burial-grounds, 
called puiicuU, a puteis, from the trenches ready dug to re¬ 
ceive bodies. Such was the ground at the Esquiline gate, 
which Augustus gave Maecenas for his gardens. J Public 

* That it might be done under the sanction of the religious authorities, we 
learn from Cicero: “ Statuit collegium locum publicum non potuisse privata 
religione obligari.”—Legg. ii. 23. 

f Suet. Tiber. There wei e tombs belonging to the clans (gentes), in which 
none but tliose of the clan, and therefore paiticipating in the same sacred rites, 
could be buried. Tanta religio est sepuloorum, ut extra sacra et gentein 
inferri fas negent esse.—Cic. Legg. ii. 22. [But a tomb might be under the 
Capitol and yet without the old Servian walls, as, for instance, the tomb of 
Bibulus, which may still be seen. The privilege of being buried within the 
walls belonged, by virtue of their office, to the Vestals, and was sometimes 
extended to distinguished poisons.—E d.] 

Nunc licet Esquiliis habitare salubribus, atque 
Aggere in aprico spatiari; quo modo tristes 
Albis informem spectabant ossibus humum. 

Her. Sat. i. viii. 14, 


504 


POMPEII. 


tombs were also granted by the state to eminent men; an 
honour in early times conferred on few.* These grants were 
usually made in the Campus Martius, w'here no one could 
legally be buried without a decree of the senate in his favour. 
It appears from the inscriptions found in the Street of Tombs 
at Pompeii, that much, if not the whole of the ground on 
which those tombs fire built, was public property, the property 
of the corporation, as we should now say ; and that the sites 
of many, perhaps of all, v*^ere either purchased, or granted by 
the decurions, or municipal senate, in gratitude for obliga¬ 
tions received. 

Sometimes the body was burnt at the j)lace where it was 
to be entombed, which, when the pile and sepulchre were 
thus joined, was called hustum;^ sometimes the sepulchre 
was at a distance from the place of burning, which was then 
called ustrina.\ The words hustum and sepulchrum, therefore, 
though often loosely used as synonymous, are not in fact so, 
the latter being involved in, but by no means comprehending 
the former. The pile was ordered to be built of rough wood, 
unpolished by the axe. Pitch was added to quicken the 
flames, and cypress, the aromatic sc«nt of which was useful 
to overpower the stench of the burning body. The funeral 
piles of great men were of immense size, and splendidly 
adorned; and all classes appear to have indulged their vanity 
in this respect to the utmost of their means, so that a small 
and unattended pyre is mentioned as the mark of an insignifi¬ 
cant or friendless person. The body was placed on it in the 
litter or bier; the nearest relation present then opened the 
eyes, which it had been the duty of the same person to close 
immediately after death, and set fire to the wood with averted 
face, in testimony that he performed that ofiice not of good¬ 
will, but of necessity. As the combustion proceeded, various 
offerings were cast into the flames. The manes were believed 
to love blood : animals, therefore, especially those which 
they had loved while alive, were killed and thrown upon the 
pile, as horses, dogs, and doves, besides the beasts commonly 

* Majores nostri statuas multis decreverunt, sepulcra paucis.—Cic. Pliilipp. 
ix. 

t We nvay trace the signification of hustum in its derivation from buro, tlie 
criminal form of the verb i<,ro, to burn, as in comburo. 

J Festus. 


TOMBS. 


505 


used in sacrifice, as sheep and oxen. Human beings, especially 
prisoners of war, were sometimes put to death, though not in 
the later times of the republic. The most costly robes and 
arms of the deceased, especially trophies taken in warfare, 
w'ere also devoted in his honour, and the blaze was fed by the 
costly oils and gums of the East. The body being reduced to 
ashes, these were then quenched with wine, and collected by 
the nearest relation ; after which, if the grief were real, they 
were again bedewed with tears; if not, wine or unguents 
answered the purpose equally well. The whole ceremony is 
described in few lines by Tibullus :— 

There, while the fire lies smouhlering on the ground, 

My bones, the all of me, can then be found. 

Arrayed in mourning robes, the sorrowing pair 
Shall gather all around with pious care; 

With ruddy wine the relics sprinkle o’er. 

And snowy milk on them collected pour. 

Then with fair linen cloths the moisture dr)', 

Inurned in some cold marble tomb to lie. 

With them enclose the spices, sweets, and gums, 

And all that from the rich Arabia comes, 

And what Assyria’s wealthy confines send. 

And tears, sad oflering, to my memory lend.—Eleg. iii. 2—17. 

The ashes thus collected were then finally deposited in the 
urn, which was made of different materials, according to the 
quality of the dead; usually of clay or glass, but sometimes 
of marble, bronze, and even the precious metals. The cere¬ 
mony thus over, the praefica gave the word, llicet (the con¬ 
tracted form of Ire licet, It is lawful to go), and the bystanders 
departed, having been thrice sprinkled with a branch of olive 
or laurel dipped in water, to purify them from the pollution 
which they had contracted, and repeating thrice the words. 
Vale, or Salve, words of frequent occurrence in monumental 
inscriptions, as in one of beautiful simplicity which we quote 
below.* 

Before the urn was committed to the tomb the interval of 
a day frequently elapsed ; and often, after the funeral, a feast 

* VALE . ET . SALVE . ANIMA . C. OPPl^ . FELICIS'S. NOS . EO . 
ORPINE . QUO . NATURA . PERMISERIT . TE . SEQUEML’R . VALE . 
.MATER . DULCISSIMA. Farewell, most happy soul of Caia Oppia. We 
shall follow thee in such order as may be appointed by, nature. Farewell, 
sweetest mother.” ^ > 


506 


POMPEII. 


was held in honour of the dead, at which his urn was placed 
in a conspicuous situation. This portion of the subject wc 
reserve for future discussion. Tombs were of two sorts: 
those which were erected for tlie reception of a single person, 
or of such persons as the builder chose to admit to a j)artici- 
pation of it, in which case a curse was usually denounced on 
all who violated it by introducing the bones of others; and 
those again which were built as family monuments, where 
the freed slaves of the family, who could of course have no 
■sepulchres of their own except by purchase, were frequently 
admitted. An instance of this sort occurs in the Street of 
Tombs, in the tomb erected by Nasvoleia Tyche. Each tomb 
was usually encircled by a low wall or palisade ; and as not 
only the building itself, but the jdot of ground on which it 
stood, was consecrated, it was usual to place an inscription, 
stating how much ground was allotted, and consequently how 
far the sacred part extended. “ In fronte pedes tot . in agro 
pedes tot.” 

The distinction between cenotaphs and tombs has been 
already explained. Cenotaphs, however, were of two sorts : 
those erected to persons already duly buried, which were 
merely honorary, and those erected to the unburied dead, 
which had a religious end and efficacy. This evasion of the 
penal laws against lying unburied was chiefly serviceable to 
persons shipwrecked or slain in war; but all came in for the 
benefit of it whose bodies could not be found or identified. 
When a cenotaph of the latter class was erected sacrifices 
were offered, the manes of the deceased were thrice invoked 
with a loud voice, as if to summon them to their new abode, 
which part of the ceremony was called i/^v^aywyta, and the 
cenotaph was hallowed with the same privileges as if the ashes 
of the deceased reposed within it.* 

The heir*, however, had not discharged his last duty when 
he had laid the body of his predecessor in the tomb: there 
were still due solemn rites, and those of an expensive cha¬ 
racter. The Romans loved to keep alive the memory of their 
dead, showing therein a constancy of affection which docs 

* Statuent tumulum, et tumulo solemnia mittent 
• iEternumq. locus Paliiiuri nomea habebit.—iEn. vi. -380. 

.. - . .... Tumulum Khaeteo in litore iuanem 

Constitui, ot magna manes ter voce vocavi.—Ib. 505. 


.TOMBS. 


507 

them honour ; and not only immediately after the funeral, 
but at stated periods from time to time, they celebrated feasts 
and offered sacrifices and libations to them. The month of 
February was especially set apart for doing honour to the 
manes, having obtained that distinction in virtue of being, in 
old times, the last month of the year. Private funeral 
leasts were also celebrated on the ninth day after death 
[iiovemdialia), and indeed at any time, except on those days 
which were marked as unlucky (atri), because some great 
public calamity had befallen upon them. Besides these feasts, 
the dead were honoured with (inferice) sacrifices, which were 
offered {inferebantur') to the manes, and with games; but the 
latter belong more to those splendid public funerals which we 
have professed not to describe. The inferias consisted princi¬ 
pally of libations, for which were used water, milk, wine, but 
especially blood, the smell of which was thought peculiarly 
palatable to the ghosts. Perfumes and flowers were also 
thrown upon the tomb; and the inexpediency of wasting rich 
wines and precious oils* on a cold stone and dead body, 
when they might be employed in comforting the living, 
was a favourite subject with the hons vivans of the age. It 
was with the same design to crown it with garlands, and to 
honour it with libations, that Electra and Orestes met and 
recognized each other at their father’s tomb. Roses were in 
especial request for this service, and lilies also :— 

Full canisters of fragrant lilies bring, 

Mixed with the purple roses of the spring; 

Let me with funeral flowers his body strow, 

This gift which parents to their chilhen owe. 

This unavailing gift at least I may bestow. 

Drydeti, vEn. vi. 883. 

Other plants however were set apart as liaving a special 
fitness for this purpose. The Greeks used amaranthus, which, 
without much violence, may be translated, everlasting ; and, 
in truth, is commonly understood to mean the flower so 
named. Parsley and myrtle were also funereal plants ; still 

* Thus Anacreon— 

Ti Se Set \l0ov nvpt^eip ; 

Tt 5e yp ; 

’Epe /u.aAAov, ws eri fw 
MvpCaov, poSois fie Kpara 
JJvKavov . . . . • 


POMPEII. 


508 

the rose was in early ages the favourite for this last, as for all 
other uses.* The Romans were so fond of it, that we find in¬ 
scriptions making mention of legacies, bestowed on condition 
that the monument of the testator should he annually crowned 
with roses. Tluiy also made much use of woollen fillets 
(infnice, tcenice), one remarkable application of which will be 
noticed in the course of this chapter. 

In the earliest ages of Christianity these practices were 
strenuously denounced as savouring of idolatry. The objec¬ 
tionable parts, the sacrifices and libations, once abandoned, 
were of course never resumed; but it is curious to see how 
soon the hearts of men wandered back to a simple, natural, 
and elegant method of testifying affection. Even so soon as 
the fourth century, St. Jerome and Prudentius had so far con¬ 
quered their fears of Paganism, that, they speak of the custom 
of strewing tombs with flowers, and speak of it with compla¬ 
cency. 

The first tomb on the left, marked 1 on the following plan, 
which presents itself to the traveller as he approaches the 
Gate of Herculaneum, hears the name of Diomedes, and stands 
just opposite the Suburban Villa, to which it has lent a name. 
To modern notions there is something discordant in thus 
intermingling life and death, and even those who have least 
cause to fear the final hour, and who look with the warmest 
interest upon the spot where those loved ones who have gone 
before them are deposited, would shrink from the close 
association of such objects with their every-day business and 
pleasures. One remarkable instance of a contrary feeling in 
a remarkable man is well known ; it is that of Nelson, who 
kept the cofiEiu made, after the battle of the Nile, out of the 
mainmast of L’Orient, in his cabin, in full sight: but the 
display was not so agreeable to his friends, who never rested 
till they got it stowed away in the hold. In this aversion 
the Romans had no share. Death w’as to them the end of 
sensation and pleasure, yet, instead of regarding the emblems 
<f it with aversion, they rather sought in them a higher 
leli'h for present enjoyment. That singular custom, bor- 


* So Anacreon — 


’Eis poSov- 

TdSe- Kai vo<rov<Tiv apicet. 
Td6e ICQ.I vexpois aixvvei. 


TOMBS. 


509 

rowed from the Egyptians, is well known, by which a 
skeleton was not unfrequently introduced among the guests 
at festive parties, with the exhortation, pointed by appealing 
to the sapless bones, “ Let us live while the power of enjoy¬ 
ment is ours.” * 

This tomb, as well as almost all which which have been 
found, is raised upon a platform of masonry above the level 
of the footway. To the extreme left is a wall, which seems 
to mark the limits of the family burial-place. Near it stand 



two cippi, or funeral columns, one erected to Arria, a daughter 
probably, the other to Arrius, his eldest son.- These are sur¬ 
mounted by hemispheres, the flat side presented to the road 
—a form of monument not uncommon at Pompeii; and one 
which, when the hinder part is carved in imitation of hair, 
with dependent tresses, it is difficult to see without thinking 
of that antidote to sentiment, a barber’s block. A low wall 
divides these monuments from the principal one; but that 
they all belong to one family is made evident by an inscrip¬ 
tion placed directly under this partition :— 

ARRIAE . M . F . (ilise) 

DIOMEDES . L . SIBI • SVIS • 


* Vivamus, dura licet esse bene. The Egyptians introduced a wooden 
figure of a mummy, and their formula ran differently, according to Herodotus. 
'Es ToifTOi' opeuiP nlpe re Kal repireo, eaaeai yap anoBavtav toiovtos. ii, 78. “ Re¬ 

garding this, drink and enjoy thyself, for such as this wilt thou be after 
death.” 










510 


POMPEII. 



G round-pluu ol tue Street of Tumos. 

























TOMBS. 


51L 


Gate of Herculaneum. 





Ground plan of the Street of Tombs. 





















POMPEII. 


512 

The tomb itself is a solid building, not fitted for the recep¬ 
tion of urns, and therefore merely erected in commemoration, 
like the cippi above described. The fa 9 ade is about nine feet 
broad and twelve high, and presents two pilasters, which 
support a pediment. The capitals are capricious, but not 
inelegant. Under the pediment is the following inscrip¬ 
tion :— 

M. ARRIVS . : . L . DIOMEDES 
SIBI • SVIS MEMORIAE 
MAGISTER . PAG • AUG • FELIC • SVBVRB. 

The letter preceding the L is much defaced, and its signifi¬ 
cation not determined ; it seems to have been the initial of a 
name. The inscription will signify that “Marcus Arrius 

Diomedes, freedman of., president of the suburb of 

Augusta Felix, erected this building as a memorial of himself 
and his family.” Of this suburb the Street of Tombs is 
supposed to have formed part. Below are fasces, the emblems 
of authority, which show that he was one of the chief munici¬ 
pal magistrates, but reversed, in conformity with the custom 
in cases of mourning, which we have already noticed. The 
building is of rough stone, covered with stucco. Beside it is 
a small building, 2, with a semicircular recess, apparently 
containing a seat. 

On the same platform are two other tombs: the one, 3, strik¬ 
ing only from its diminutive size and plainness, is evidently 
the humble tribute of some poor family to a departed member ; 
the other, 4, is of considerable size and pretensions. It 
formed an oblong building, the sides ornamented with pilas¬ 
ters, which supported an entablature crowned by statues. 
The upper part of the tomb is now destroyed, but the frag¬ 
ments of the entablature and statues found about it testify 
plainly that such must have been the design. The side next 
the city is ornamented by two bas-reliefs, much broken, and 
the front has the remains of two medallions, which probably 
contained portraits of Lucius Ceius and Lucius Labeo, to 
whom the tomb was erected by their freedman, Menomachus, 

The next tomb, marked 5 on the plan, is solid, and com¬ 
posed entirely of blocks of travertine ; and in consequence it 
remains perfect, while the surrounding buildings, run up 
with small stones and stucco, are all of them more or less 



TOMBS. 


513 

degraded. The'form is simple and elegant, resembling the 
pedestal of a column; the base about twelve feet square, the 
height sixteen feet. It is decorated with a well-designed 
moulding and cornice, beneath which, both on the southern 
and western sides, is the inscription :— 

M . ALLEIO . LVCCIO • LIBELLAE • PATRl . AEDILI 
II . VIR . PRAEEECTO • QVINQ . ET • M . ALLEIO • LIBELLAE • F. 
DECVRIONI . VIXIT . ANNIS • XVII . LOCVS • MONVMEiNTI 
PVBLICE . DATVS • EST . ALLEIA . M • F » DECIMILLA • SACERDOS 
PVBLICA . CERERIS • FACIENDVM . CVRAVIT . VIRO . ET • FILIO 

“ ToM. Alleius Luccius Libella, the father, ^dile, Duumvir, 
Quinquennial Prefect, and M. Alleius Libella, his son, Decu- 
rion, who lived to the age of seventeen, was assigned the site 
of this monument at the public charge. Alleia Decimilla, 
daughter of Marcus, Public Priestess of Ceres, erected it to 
her husband and son.” 

The offices of Duumvir and Decurion corresponded in the 
municipal towns with those of Consul and Senator at Rome, 
as we have before had occasion to mention. It is remarkable 
that the rank of Decurion, which, according to a passage in 
Macrobius (Sat. ii. 3), was very difficult to be obtained at 
Pompeii, should have been enjoyed by a youth of seventeen. 
The same passage shows that the rank of Decurio answered 
to that of Senator.* 

Behind this tomb the reader will observe a small sepul¬ 
chral enclosure, and the commencement of another building, 
marked 6 and 7 on the plan. Neither presents anything 
worthy of notice. 

The next, marked 8, placed at the junction of two roads, 
and called the Tomb with the Marble Door, has nothing 
remarkable in its exterior. It is composed of small pieces 
of tufa, laid sometimes horizontally, sometimes in diamonds,! 
the- top much broken. In front is a low entrance, about 
four feet high, which was closed by a marble door, turning 
upon bronze pivots received in sockets of the same metal. 
It w^as drawn to by a ring and closed by a lock, probably 
of the same metal: the holes cut to receive them are stiU 

* Cicero facilitatem Caesaris in allegendo Senatu irrisit palam; nam cum 
ab hospite suo P. Mallio rogaretur ut decurionatum privigno cjus expediret, 
assistente frequentia dixit; Romae si vis habebit, Pompeiis difficile est. 

t Opus reticulatum. 

2 L 


POMPEII. 


514 

to be seen. In tlie interior is a small chamber, lighted by a 
high window in the back of the tomb. Beneath the window, 
opposite the door, is a niche, in which an alabaster vase was 
found. Other vases, in glass, earth, and marble, were standing 
upon a ledge whieh runs around the chamber. The reader 



will observe the coliimharia, or little niches, so called from 
their resemblance to the holes of a pigeon-house, in which 
the urns are severally deposited. 

Beyond this tomb, where the two roads separate, are the 
remains of a small square enclosure, 9, probably an ustrinum^ 
or place for burning dead bodies. Its isolated situation 

























TOMBS. 


515 

appears to render it peculiarly suited to tins purpose. It is 
not uncommon to find inscriptions on monuments forbidding 
the application of funeral piles against them: “ Ad hoc mo- 
numentum ustrinum applicare non licet.” 



We will now cross to the other side of the road, where the. 
monuments are in better preservation and more interesting. 
Close to the Villa of Diomedes is a small enclosure, of ir 
regular figure, presenting to the street a plain front about 
twenty feet in length, stuccoed and unornamented, except by 
a low pediment and cornice. I'he door is remarkably low, 
not more than five feet high. Entering, we find ourselves 
within a chamber open to the sky, the walls cheerfully de- 








POMPEII. 


516 

coratod with paintings of animals in the centre of compart¬ 
ments bordered with flowers.* Before us is a stone triclinium, 
with a massive pedestal in the centre to receive the table, 
and a round pillar in advance of it. It is a funeral triclinium, 
for the celebration of feasts in honour of the dead: the pillar 
probably supported the urn of him in whose honour the en¬ 
tertainments were given, after which it was deposited in the 
tomb. Some notice of these funeral feasts will complete our 
account of the honours paid to the dead. 

Although a usual tribute of respect, they were not a neces¬ 
sary part of the funeral ceremonies, insomuch that a disap¬ 
pointed heir often revenged himself by defrauding the de¬ 
ceased of this portion of his honours.| The name given to 
them was silicernhim, of which, according to a voluminous 
antiquary, there are as many etymologies as there are syl¬ 
lables. The antiquity of this practice appears from Homer ; J 
and it still existed in the fourth century, in the time of 
St. Augustine, who expressed wonder “ that men should heap 
meats and wines upon tombs, as if departed spirits required 
fleshly food.”§ Finally, those meats were burnt, lest they 
should be profaned by any person partaking of them, and the 
term hustirapiis, tomb-snatcher, is of frequent occurrence, to 
denote the extreme of misery and degradation, which alone, 
it was supposed, could drive men to plunder these devoted 
banquets. Another class of funeral feasts was of a more 
cheerful description, and consisted of an entertainment, not 
only to bo partaken, but to be consumed by the dearest fi-iends 

* Tliese have now vanished, and the whole place is in a very dilapidated 
condition. 

f-- Sed ccenam funeris hseres 

Negliget iratus, si rem curtaveris.—Pers. iv. 83. 

J-Eurylochus 

Held fa^t the destined sacrifice, while I 
Scooped with my sword the soil, opening a trench 
EU-wide on every side : then j'oured around 
Libation consecrate to all the dead, 

First milk with honey mixed, then luscious wine, 

Then water, sprinkling last meal over all. 
***** 

Piercing the victims next, I turned them both 
To bleed into the trench : then swarming came 
Fj’om Erebus the shades of the deceased. 

Cowper, Odyss. xi. 23, $cq. 


§ De Sanctis, Serm. 15. 



TOMB^. 


517 

and relations of tlie deceased. Sometimes it was given at 
the time of the funeral, in which case the urn of the deceased 
appears to have been exposed to view, sometimes at the puri¬ 
ficatory sacrifice (novemdiale) at the end of nine days, some¬ 
times at later periods of annual recurrence. Legacies were 
sometimes left to defray the expense of an annual feast. 
Mention is made of Minutius Anteras, a freedman, who left 
an annual sum of 10,000 sesterces, about 80Z., to be spent in 
his honour. Public feasts were sometimes given by very 
wealthy men in honour of their relations, as did the son of 
Sylla in honour of his father, and Julius Cassar in honour of 
his daughter. At these the whole peoj^le were entertained 
at an enormous expense. Certain dishes were peculiarly ap¬ 
propriate to the funeral meal, among which were beans, 
parsley, eggs, lentils, and a cake called libum, not, however, 
to the exclusion of meat. Even on these mournful occasions 
the guests came dressed in white ; to appear in black seems to 
have been a sort of profanation. There is a remarkable charge 
in the Oration against Vatinius, that at a public funeral en¬ 
tertainment, given by Q. Arrius, he had a 2 )peared among the 
senators assembled in the temple of Castor in a black robe. 
“Who ever, at a private funeral, aj)j)eared at table in a 
mourning gown? who but yourself ever took a mourning 
gown on leaving the bath ? When so many thousands were 
set down, when the master of the feast, Q. Arrius, was in white, 
you burst like an omen of evil into the temi^le of Castor, 
with Caius Fidulus, in black, and the rest of your furies.”* 

Bonucci calls this triclinium the sepulchral chamber of 
Satuiminus. We have not access to his work, and cannot 
tell what is his authority for the assertion. Mazois gives no 
inscription.^ It is the only erection of its kind in the Street 
of Tombs, and we should almost consider it as built for the 
general accommodation, or perhaps as matter of speculation, 
and let out on hire.J 

The monument which stands next is intended for the 

* Cic. in Vatin. 13. The allusion to the bath is another proof how invariably 
the Romans resorted to it before the afternoon meal. 

f An inscription built into the gable says that it was erected in honour ot 
Cn. Vibrius Saturninus, of the Falernian Tribe, by his freeman Callistus. 
See Mommsen, inserr. Regni Neap. No. 2349.— Ed. ' 

J For the elevation of this and following tombs, see above, p. 429. 


POMPEII. 



518 

common burial-place of a family. It consists, as will be seen 
more clearly by looking to the ground plan, No. 11, of a 
square building, containing a small chamber, by the side of 
which is a door giving admission to a small court surrounded 


by a high wall. The entrance to the chamber is at the back. 
From the level of the outer wall rise two steps, supporting a 
marble cippus richly ornamented. Its front is occupied by a 
bas-relief and inscription, of which we annex a copy :— 

NAEVOLEIA • I • LIB • TYCHE • SIBI • ET 
C . MVNATIO • FAVSTO • AVG • ET • FAGAKO 
CVI . DECVRIONES • CONSENSY . POPVLI ' 

BISELLIVM . OB • MEPITA • EIVS . DECHEVERVNT 

HOC . MOMMENTVM • NAEVOLEIA . TYCHE • LIBERTIS • SVIS 

LIBERTABVSQ • ET . C . :MVNATI • FAYSTI • YIYA • FECIT 


Tomb of N£Evoleia Tyche. 



















TOMBS. 


519 

The latter is to the following purport:—“ Naevoleia Tyche, 
freedwoman of Julia Tyclie, to herself and to Caius Munatius 
Faustus, Augustal, and magistrate of the suburb, to whom 
the Decurions, with the consent of the people, have granted 
the honour of the bisellium for his merits. Nasvoleia Tyche 
erected this monument in her lifetime for her freedmen and 
women, and for those of C. Munatius Faustus.” The por¬ 
trait below is probably that of Nasvoleia; the bas-relief is 
supposed to represent the dedication of the tomb. On one 
side are the municipal magistrates, on the other the family 
of Naevoleia; in the centre is alow altar,upon which a youth 
is placing some offering, and by it a cippus, which is to 
represent the tomb. On the side next the triclinium is a 
curious bas-relief of a ship, which presents us with some 



Bas-relief of 2^ievoicia i yelie. 


interesting particulars concerning the naval architecture of 
tlie Komans. The ends of the vessel are remarkable. The 
prow is of singular shape, not clearly defined, and does not 
present the formidable beak of a ship of war : it is surmounted 
by a bust of Minerva. The poop ends in a swan or goose’s 
neck (xrjvLo-Kosi), from which there floats a flag: another flag 
is to be seen at. the mast-head. The yard consists of two 
spars rudely lashed together. At the mast-head is something 
resembling a large block, in which ropes are fixed, which 
Mazois says are the halyards. In his engraving they look 
more like shrouds; and indeed a boy is making use of them 
as shrouds, and climbing up them. The crew consists of 
children who are furling the sail. A man sitting at the 
poop holds the rudder, and is said to represent Munatius. 
Two explanations of this sculpture are given—one literal. 







520 


POMPEII 





lius-rclief oii the iloiiuiuent ol Nan oleia Tyche. 













































TOMBS. 


521 


that it is merely indicative of the profession of Munatius; 
the other allegorical, that it symbolises the arrival of the 
tossed ship of life in a quiet haven. The reader may choose 
between the two, as the gods have made him poetical or prOf- 
saic.* On the opposite side of the cippus is the bisellium, or 
seat of honour, granted to Munatius. 



Bas-relief on the Tomb of Najvoleia TycLe. 


A sort of solid bench for the reception of urns runs round 
the funeral chamber, and several niches are hollowed in the 
wall. Some lamps were found here, and many urns, three of 
glass, the rest of common earth. The glass urns were of 
large size, one of them fifteen inches in height by ten 
in diameter, and were protected from injury by leaden cases. 
They contained, when found, burnt bones, and a liquid which 
has been analyzed, and found to consist of mingled water, 
wine, and oil. In two of the urns it was of a reddish tint, in 
the other yellow, oily and transparent. There can be no 
doubt but that we have here the libations which were poured 
as a last tribute of friendship upon the ashes of the tenants of 
the tomb. 

♦ In support of the latter opinion, Breton adduces several instances of the 
allegorical introduction of a ship in funeral monuments. Pompeia, p. 85, seq. 





522 


POMPEII. 


Tlie burial-ground of Nistacidius, marked 12, offers notbing 
to detain us. It is surrounded by a low wall, about breast 
high, and contains three cippi after the manner of wig- 
blocks. 

The next erection, 13, is of novel and commanding design. 
Within a court, about twenty-one feet square, a massive base¬ 
ment rises to the height of five feet and a half. Three steps 
lead up to a cippus elegantly carved. In front, within a 
rich border, is the inscription :— 

C . CALVENTIO • QVIETO 
AVGVSTALI 

HVIC • OB . MVNIKICENT • DECVRIONVM 
DECRETO ‘ ET • POPVLI • CONSENSV • BISELLII 
HONOR DATES . EST . 

“ To Caius Calventius Quietus, Augustal. To him, in 
reward of his munificence, the honour of the bisellium was 
granted by the decree of the Decurions, and with the consent 
of the people.” Below is a representation of the bisellium. 



It is to be remarked that all those who are mentioned in 
inscriptions as possessing the privilege of the bisellium bear 
also the title of Augustal. The learned Fabretti supposes 
that it was peculiar to this class of priests, but at the same 
time not granted to all, but only to the most distinguished of 
them. This distinction was purely municipal: it conferred 
no rank or precedence beyond the walls of the city by which 
it was granted; and to this perhaps it is owing, that while 













TOMBS 


523 


frequent mention of the bisellium occurs in inscriptions, 
VaiTO is the only Latin autlior who has spoken of it at all. 
The sides are ornamented with richly carved garlands of 
oak-leaves, bound with fillets; the mouldings and cornice 
are elegant in design and execution. This edifice is solid: 
it was therefore no place of burial, but a cenotaph, or hono¬ 
rary tomb, erected to Calventius Quietus. The upper part is 
entirely composed of marble; the basement and surrounding 
wall- are of masonry coated with stucco. Square pinnacles, 
called acroteria, are placed on the w’all, their sides ornamented 
with stucco bas-reliefs of a mythological character. One 
represents Theseus ; another, (Edipus and the Sphinx, where 
the Theban hero, with an action not yet out of use, puts his 
finger to his forehead, as if to denote that he has there the 
interpretation of the riddle. The Sphinx sits on a rock, 
above the bodies of her victims, which are remarkable as 
showing some traces of the human skeleton. There is no 
door of access to the little area surrounding the monument, 
but the wall in front is scarcely four feet high ; at the sides 
it is higher, and the back rises into a pediment which leads 
the eye well up to the lofty cippus, and communicates an 
agreeable pyramidal effect to the whole design. The extreme 
height from the footway is about seventeen feet. 

An unoccupied space intervenes between this tomb and the 
next, 14, which bears no inscription. It is a round tower 
enclosed like those of Naevoleia and Quietus, with a wall or 
septum, ornamented with acroteria. The annexed view con¬ 
veys Qjn accurate idea of its external a 2 }pearance. On the 
right' is the tomb of Calventius Quietus, on the left that of 
Scaurus. Here also we find bas-reliefs Tipon the acroteria, 
one remarkable for its subject. The skeleton of a child re¬ 
poses on a heap of stones; a young woman stoops over it in 
the act of depositing a funeral fillet. A touching explanation 
of this singular subject has been proposed,—that it represents 
the discovery of a child, who had perished in the earthquake, 
by the mother, who is now rendering the last service in her 
power. The dress of the female is still preserved in the 
secluded country which encircles Sora.* A narrow and steep 
stair leads up to the sepulchral chamber, which is vaulted 


* Mazois, p, 46. 


524 


POMPEII 



View of the Tomb of Scaurus, the Round Tomb, and the Tomb of Calventiut^ (Quietus 
















































































































































































































































TOMBS. 525 

somewhat in the shape of a bell, and painted with arabesque 
designs. 

Immediately adjoining is the tomb of Scaurus, the bas- 
reliefs on Avhich, relating to the combats of the amphitheatre, 
have been fully described in the first part.* In the interior 
of this tomb is a vaulted sepulchral chamber, the arch of 
which and the upper part of the monument are supported by a 
massive pier, pierced by four small arches, niches rather, 



except that they traverse its whole thickness, three of which 
were closed with glass and the fourth with a thick veil 
fastened with nails. This kind of tabernacle, contrived 
thus in the centre of the pier, did not contain anything 
when discovered, but it is probable that it was meant for 

* All the figure.; on this tomb have now disappeared except tlie bas-reliot 
over the door.° Happily Mazois and Millin copied them soon after theii db- 
covery.—E d. 




















POMPEII 


526 


a lamp, from tlie care taken to shut up the sides \vitb 
glass, leaving one aperture for the admission of air. The 
arches seem to have been closed, that the wind might not ex¬ 
tinguish the lamp when the door was opened. Fourteen 



niches pierced round the inside of the apartment were 
destined to receive as many cinerary urns. Daylight was ad¬ 
mitted through a small opening at the back of the building, 
aiound wh'ch a wall is drav n, fo ining a small enclosure. 


















TOMBS. 



Semicircular Exedra in the Street of Tombs. 

empty space, is a long row of mean shops, with courts behind 
them, conjectured to have been a hostelry for the peasants who 
resorted to Pompeii; but nothing can be more vague than this 
supposition. Adjoining them is another row of shops, of more 
pretension. The next object is a remarkable exedra, or seat. 


527 

Beyond the tomb of Scaurus is a space of eighty feet, having 
one unfinished tomb. Advancing towards the city we then 
come to one of the courts of the villa named after Cicero, and 
2 )ass the row of shops which stood in front of it. On the other 
side of the way, opposite to the tomb of Scaurus and this 









































POMPEII. 


528 

17, in the form of a semicircle, and vaulted over. As it 
faces the south, and is of considerable depth, it is so con¬ 
trived as in summer to alford a constant shade, and in winter 
to receive the full benefit of the cheering sun. It is of ca¬ 
pricious taste, yet not inelegant; and it may be observed, as 
a peculiarity, that the upper pilasters spring immediately 
from the capitals of the lower ones. Within it was gaily, 
not to say gaudily, painted. The top of the vault is blue, 
the lower part, which is moulded in the form of a shell, is 
white; the walls are divided into panels by black borders 
relieved by golden arabesques; and the panels are red, with 
the figure of some animal in the centre, in imitation of life. 
The floor is placed at some height above the footpath; and 
to facilitate access there is only one small and inconvenient 
stepping-stone. The projecting eave is a modem addition, 
to preserve the building. Near this spot the skeletons of a 
female with an infant in her arms, and beside her of two 
children, their bones mingled and interlaced, showing that at 
the last they had sought comfort in each other’s embrace, were 
dug up. It was a family perhaps of distinction, certainly of 
wealth, for among their remains two pairs of earrings, with 
pearl pendants of great value, were found, and three gold 



rings, one of them in the form of a serpent, with its nead 
pointing along the finger, and its body coiled around in 
several folds.* 

Between this exedra and the gate of the city there are 
traced on the plan the sites of several unknown tombs, which 
it is not necessary to describe; only we may mention that 
in the little nameless tomb close to the exedra just described, 
and seen in the view, was found the finest glass vase that, 
with the exception of the Portland vase, has come down to 

* The Journals of the Excavations know nothing of these skeletons. See 
Pomp, Ant, Hist.f t. i. fasc. iii. p. 74 (Dec. 14, 1811). 



TOMBS. 


529 

us from antiquity. The glass is dark blue, and is ornamented 
with a white opaque relief, representing bacchanal scenes in 
the midst of a rich foliage. Hence the tomb has been called 
the Tomha del vaso di vetro hlu. The vase is now in the 
Museum. Just beyond is the Tomb of the Garlands. 

Immediately under the walls of the town a road tuimed off to 
the left, which led to Nola, and enabled travellers who had no 
business in the town to avoid passing through its crowded 
streets. Between this road and the city gate is a square base¬ 
ment, 18, probably intended to support a colossal statue of 
bronze : at least some fragments of such a statue were found 
about it. Nearly opposite, but a little further from the gate, is 
the beginning of another road leading somewhere to the right, 
along the side of Cicero’s villa. Here, at the angle of the wall, 
there w^as formerly a stone bracket, apparently to receive offer¬ 
ings of fruit, &c., by the side of which an immense serpent was 
painted, in the act of stooping his head, as if to partake of 
what w^as set before him. This relic was accidentally de¬ 
stroyed by the carts employed in removing rubbish from the 
excavations in the year 1813. * 

Between this by-road and the city gate there is a group of 
interesting remains, consisting of two tombs and two large 
uncovered semicircular seats. The first, 19, is raised upon a 
high step ; it is about seventeen feet in diameter, and bears 
the following inscription, occupying the whole space above 
the bench, which is finished, and supported at each end by a 
lion^s paw:— 

MAMIAE . P . F . SACERDOTI • PVBLICAE • LOCVS- 

SEPVLTVR . DATVS • DECVRIONVM • DECRETO- 

“ To Mamia, daughter of (probably) Porcius, public priestess, 
a place of burial is assigned by decree of the Decurions.” 
A little in advance of this seat is an upright stone, with an 
inscription importing that the Decurions had granted to 
M. Porcius a plot of ground twenty-five feet square; and im¬ 
mediately behind is a tomb, 20, which, with its septum or 
enclosure, in fact does occupy about that space. It is upon 
these coincidences we imagine that P, in the inscription above 
given, is interpreted Porcius, and the tomb of which we have 
spoken is assigned to Mamia, for it bears no inscription to 
point out its owner. At the same time, the tomb between the 

2 M 


POMPEII. 


530 

seats occupies about the same space, and a doubt may be felt 
which of the two is the one meant. Be this as it may, the 
tomb in question is more than usually large and handsome. 
The septum is worked into apertures rounded at top, which 
give to it the appearance of a balustrade. The tomb is of 
masonry covered with stucco, and ornamented with engaged 
columns, which, from their proportions, appear to be of the 



Corinthian order, but the capitals are gone. Mazois has 
given a restoration of it, according to his notions of the cha¬ 
racteristics of Pompeian architecture : the existing part may 
be distinguished by the uneven line which bounds it. Several 
ill-executed marble statues, now in the Boyal Museum of 
^^aples, were found in the interior, which was set round with 
niches: the walls were painted. In the centre is a large 
pedestal which probably supported the urn of the tenant. 


































































TOMBS. 


531 

Behind this tomb is a spot called the sepulchre of animals, 
because many skulls and half-burnt bones of sheep and oxen 
have been found there. It probably was a spot where offer¬ 
ings were made to the dead. An altar richly ornamented 
with fruit and garlands, which w^as dug up here, seems to 
confirm this opinion. 

The other scat is very similar to the one described, and 
bore an inscription to one M. Veins. The tomb between 
them offers nothing worthy of notice. One building only, 
placed between the seat and the city gate, remains to be 
described. It is the niche, 21, which has been sometimes 
taken for a sentry-box; and an affecting story is told how 
the skeleton of a soldier, still grasping his lance, was found 
here, together with the usual accoutrements and arms ; thus 
showing that he had died in the discharge of his duty, a 
victim of Eoman discipline. Unfortunately, however, this 
story is a pure fable. The Journals of the Excavations 
know nothing of this soldier, although they always particu¬ 
larly record the discovery of skeletons, because in most cases 
some coins or other property were found near them.'^ 
Moreover, the place in question was no sentry-box, but a 
funeral monument of an Augustal named M. Cerinius Eesti- 
tutus, as appeared from an inscription.! 

We have now completed our circuit of that portion of 
Pompeii which has been restored to the light of day. To 
describe every building would have been useless, even in a 
professed guide-book. It has been our endeavour however 
to omit no object remarkable either for beauty or singularity; 
nothing to which the attention of those who have the good 
fortune to visit the spot ought to be directed. Occasionally we 
have indulged in a minuteness of detail, especially in speaking 
of the interior decorations of the houses, which may appear 
tedious ; we have done so, however, from a belief that with¬ 
out the advantage of personal inspection, it is only by minute¬ 
ness of description, and even repetition, that any sort of fami¬ 
liarity with the subject can be attained. In conclusion, we have 
to express a regret that the small size of our illustrations, and 
especially the want of coloured plates, prevent our doing full 
justice to the beauty and interest of this remarkable place. 

* See Overbeck, B. i., Anhang, Anmerk, 4, S. 340. 

t Pomp. Ant. Hist., t. i. p. 152 (Aug. 13th, 1763). 


532 


POMPEII. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 

The immense number and variety of statues, lamps, urns, 
articles of domestic use, in metal or earthenware, &c., dis¬ 
covered at Herculaneum and Pompeii, have rendered the 
Museum at Naples an inexhaustible treasury of information 
relative to the private life of the ancient Italians.* To give 
an adequate description of the richness and variety of its 
contents would far exceed the whole extent of this work, 
much more the small space which still remains; but that 
space cannot be better occupied than in describing some few 
articles which possess an interest from the ingenuity of theii* 
construction, the beauty of their workmanship, or their power 
to illustrate ancient usages or ancient authors. 

Writing implements are among the most important of the 
latter class, on account of the constant mention of them, as 
well as of the influence which the comparative ease or difficulty 
of producing copies of writing is always found to exert over 
society. On this head there is no want of information. The 
imiflements used are frequently mentioned, especially in 
familiar writings, as the letters of Cicero, and their forms 
have been tolerably ascertained from various fragments of 
ancient paintings. 

It is hardly necessary to state that for manuscripts of any 

* It is to be regretted, however, that there is no good catalogue, and that 
the objects are very difficult to find.—E d. 





DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


533 

length, and sucli as were meant to be preserved, parchment 
or vellum, and a vegetable tissue manufactured from the rush 
papyrus, were in use. The stalk of this plant consists of a 
number of thin concentric coats, which being carefully- 
detached, were pasted crossways one over the other, like the 
warp and woof in woven manufactures, so that the fibres ran 
longitudinally in each direction, and opposed in each an 
equal resistance to violence. The surface was then polished 
with a shell, or some hard smooth substance. The ink used 
was a simple black liquid, containing no mordant to give it 
durability, so that the writing was easily effaced by the 
application of a sponge. The length of the Greek papyri is 
said to vary from eight to twelve inches: the Latin often 
reach sixteen: the writing is in columns, placed at right 
angles to the length of the roll. The method of reading 
them will be understood from the woodcut, in which is 
represented one open, and, below it, another closed. To 
each of them is appended a sort of ticket, which served as a 


Papyri and Tabulse. 



title. Hence the end of the roll, or volume (volumen), was 
called frons, a term of frequent recurrence in Ovid and Martial, 
and not always rightly understood. Hence, also, when we 
meet with the expression, gemina frons, we must understand 
that the volume had a ticket at each end. The open book which 
stands beside them is one of those which were composed of 
two tables or pages, and served for memorandums, letters, 
and other writings, not intended to be preserved. They were 
composed of leaves of wood or metal coated over with wax, 
upon which the ancients wrote with a stylus, or iron pen, or 
point rather, for it was a solid sharp-pointed instrument, some 













534 


POMPEII. 


inches in length, like a lady’s stiletto upon a large scale. In 
the middle of each leaf there ajjpears to have been a button, 
called o/x</)aAos, umbilicus, intended to prevent the pages touch¬ 
ing when closed, and obliterating the letters traced on the 
yielding wax. The tablets here represented would be called 
SiTTTvxov, twofold, as consisting only of two leaves: in the 
next cut may be seen another sort, consisting of several leaves 
(ttoAvtttvxov), united at the back with hinges or rings. In 
Latin they were called tdbiilm, or tabellcp, and the epithets, 
duplices, triplices, quintuplices, served to mark the number 
of the leaves. 



Tabula', Calamus, and Papyrus. 


Beside them stands a double inkstand, intended probably 
to contain both black and red ink. The former was made 
either of lampblack or some other sort of charcoal, or from 
the cuttlefish, and was called atramentum. As it contained 
no mordant, and was readily obliterated by moisture, it 
could be used for writing upon ivory tablets; and it has 
been conjectured that some sorts of paper were covered 
with a wash, or varnish, to facilitate the discharge of the 
old writing, and render the paper serviceable a second 
time. Red ink, miltum, was prepared from cinnabar. The 
reed, cut to a point, which lies beside the inkstand, is the 
instrument used in writing with ink before the application ol 
quills. It was called calamus, with the distinctive epithets 
chartarius, or scriptorius. The open papyrus explains how 
manuscripts were read, rolled up at each end, so as to show 
only the column of writing upon which the student was 
intent. At the other side is a purse, or bag, to hold the reed, 
penknife, and other writing instruments. 

The next cut represents, besides a set of tablets bound up, 
a single one hanging from a nail. Such, probably, were 













DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


535 


those suspended at Epidaurus, containing remedies by which 
the sick had been cured, by the perusal of which Hippocrates 
is said to have profited in the compilation of his medical 
works. It also contains, besides a papyrus similar to those 
described, a hexagonal inkstand, with a ring to pass the finger 
through’ upon which there lies an instrument resembling a 
reed, but the absence of the knots, or joints, marks it to be a 
stylus. Another of these instruments leans against the open 
book. These were made of every sort of material; sometimes 
with the precious metals, but usually of iron, and on occasion 



might be turned into formidable weapons. It was with b is 
stylus that Caesar stabbed Casca in the arm, when attacked in 
the senate by his murderers; and Caligula employed some 
person to put to death a senator with the same instruments. 
In the reign of Claudius women and boys were searched to 
ascertain whether there were styles in their graphiarice thecce, 
or pen-cases. Stabbing with the pen, therefore, is not merely 
a metaphorical expression. Tablets such as those here re¬ 
presented, were the diumi, or day-books, hreviarii rationum. 



iahulce accepti et expensi, or account-books. When they were 
full or when the writing on them was no longer usetul, tne 
wax was smoothed, and they were ready again for other service. 
The cut above, besides an inkstand, represents an open booK. 















536 


POMPEII. 





The thinness and yellowish colour of the leaves, which are 
tied together with ribbon, denote that it was made of parch¬ 
ment or vellum. 

Below is a cylindrical box, called scrinium and capsa, or 
capsula, in which the manuscripts were placed vertically, the 
titles at the top. Catullus excuses himself to Manlius for 
not having sent him the required verses, because he had with 
him only one box of his books. It is evident that a great 
number of volumes might be comprised in this way within a 


Scrinium and Capsa, 



small space ; and this may tend to explain the smallness of 
the ancient libraries—at least of the rooms which are con¬ 
sidered to have been such. Beside the box are two tablets, 
which, from the money-bag and coins scattered about, had 
probably been used in reckoning accounts. This will bring 
to the student’s recollection the • 

. ' • 

-Mersam poni jubet atque 

Eti'uiidi saccos nummorum * 

of Horace, and the well-known lines of Juvenal— 

-Pleno cum target sacculus ore 

Ciescit amor iiummi quantum ipsa j^ecunia crescit.f 

No perfect papyri, but only fragments, have been found at 
Pompeii. At'Herculaneum, up to the year 1825, *1756 had 
been obtained, besides many others destroyed by the workmen, 
who imagined them to be mere sticks of charcoal. Most of 
them were found in a suburban villa, in a room of small 


* Sat. ii. 3, 149. 


t Juv. xiv. 138, 







DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


537 


dimensions, ranged in presses round the sides of the room, in 
the centre of which stood a sort of rectangular bookcase. 
Sir Humphry Davy, after investigating their chemical nature, 
arrived at the conclusion that they had not been carbonised 
by heat, but changed hj the long action of air and moisture ; 
and he visited Naples in hopes of rendering the resources 
of chemistry available towards deciphering these long-lost 
literary treasures. His expectations, however, were not fully 
crowned with success, although the partial efficacy of his 
methods was established; and he relinquished the pursuit at 
the end of six months, partly from disappointment, partly 
from a belief that vexatious obstacles were thrown in his way 
by the jealousy of the persons to whom the task of unrolling 
had been intrusted. About five hundred volumes have been 
well and neatly unrolled. It is rather remarkable that, as 
far as we are acquainted, no manuscript of any known standard 
work has been found, nor indeed any production of any of 
the gi’eat luminaries of the ancient world. The most cele¬ 
brated person, of whom any work has been found, is Epicurus, 
whose treatise, De Natura, has been successfully unrolled. 
This and a few other treatises have been published. The 
library in which this was found appears to have been rich 
in treatises on the Epicurean philosophy. The only Latin 
work which it contained was a poem, attributed to Eabirius, 
on the war of Caesar and Antony. 

A curious literary monument has been found in the shape 
of a calendar. It is cut on a square block of marble, upon 
each side of which three months are registered in perpen¬ 
dicular columns, each headed by the proper sign of the 
zodiac. The information given may be classed under three 
heads, astronomical, agricultural, and religious. The first 
bet^ins with the name of the month; then follows the number 
of days; then the nones, which in eight months of the year 
fall on the fifth day, and were thence called quintanae—in the 
others on the seventh, and were therefore called septimanae. 
The ides are not mentioned, because seven days always 
elapsed between them and the nones. The number of hours 
in the day and night is also given, the integral part being 
given by the usual numerals, the fractional by an S for 
semissis, the half, and by small horizontal lines for the 
quarters. Lastly, the sign of the zodiac in which the sun is 


538 


poaiPEii. 


to be found is named, and tbe days of the equinoxes and of 
the summer solstice are determined: for the winter solstice 
we read, Hiemis initium, the beginning of winter. Next the 
calendar proceeds to the agricultural portion, in which the 
hirmer is reminded of the principal oj^erations which are to 
be done within the month. It concludes with the religious 
part, in which, besides indicating the god under whose 
guardianship the month is placed, it notes the religious 
festivals which fell within it, and Avarns the cultivator against 
neglecting the worship of those deities, upon whose favour 
and protection the success of his labours was supposed mainly 
to depend. 








%'S. 


% 

U 

0. 

1 MENSIS 

rviEiN/sis 

ME^4S1S 


lANVAB. 

FEBRAR 

MARTIVS 




DIES XXXI 

OIE.^ XXVIII 

UIE2 XXX 1 



fi'i*’''. 

MUN OViNT 

NUN 0 ViNT 

NONSEPriMAN 




Ol£S>HCR>^;itlS 

Dies H0RX5: 

DIES HOtk XII 



NOX.HOR-XIIM- 

NOX tlOitXjH- 

NOX HDR XIII 

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SOL 

SuLAOVAXIO 

AEaVINOCTI/VA 


CAPRiCOR^^O 

/VTEENEPrVNl 

VIII f^ALAPR 




T\/T£I A 

SeCETES 

SOL PiSCIfiVS 




iVfvJONI.^ 

sakivntvs 

TVltLMl/V€RVA6 



PA LV^ 

VINEARVM 

VINEAEPEDAMm' 

-/V’ 

aovitvr 

SuEEXEienjUT 

NVPAilTINO 1 


^'AUIX 

IIARVNOJNES 

P/TANTVR 

0 

EIARVNDO 

INCENOVNT 

IRlMESlXstlilTvEi 


CAEBITVR 

PAXENTALIA 

ISlSlSNAVlOlVi/i 

fACRJPICAM 

DIS 

PENATIBVS 

IVJEReALIA 
CAPA COCNATO 
TER'IlfOALIA 

S/tCfiMAMVVCO 

LI6£PALOV<OUV 

TKIALAVATIO 


> 


Calendar, 


No articles of ancient manufacture are more common than 
lamps. They are found in every variety of form and size, in 
clay and in metal, from the most cheap to the most costly 
description. A large and handsome gold lamp found at 
Pompeii in 1863 may be seen in the Pompeian room at the 
museum in Naples. We have the testimony of the celebrated 
antiquary, Winkelmann, to the interest of this subject. “ I 
place among the most curious utensils found at Herculaneum, 
the lamps, in which the ancients sought to disj^lay elegance, 
and even magnificence. Lamps of every sort will be found 
in the museum at Portici, both in clay and bronze, but 
especially the latter; and as the ornaments of the ancients 
have generally some reference to some particular things, wo 






















DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


539 

often meet witli ratlier remarkable subjects.” A considerable 
number of these articles will be found in the British Museum, 
but they are chiefly of the commoner sort. All the works, 
however, descriptive of Herculaneum and Pompeii, present 
us with specimens' of the richer and more remarkable class, 
which attract admiration both by the beauty of the workman¬ 
ship and the whimsical variety of their designs. We may 
enumerate a few which occur in a work now before us, 
‘ Antiquites d’Herculanum,’ in which we find a Silenus, with 
the usual peculiarities of figure ascribed to the jolly god 
rather exaggerated, and an owl sitting upon his head between 
two huge horns, which support stands for lamps. Another 
represents a flower-stalk growing out of a circular plinth, 
with snail-shells hanging from it by small chains, which held 
the oil and wick; the trunk of a tree, with lamps suspended 
from the branches ; another, a naked boy, beautifully wrought, 
with a lamp hanging from one hand, and an instrument for 
trimming it from the other, the lamp itself representing a 
theatrical mask. Beside him is a twisted column surmounted 
by the head of a Faun or Bacchanal, which has a lid in its 
crowm, and seems intended as a reservoir of oil. The boy 
and pillar are both placed on a square plateau raised upon 
lions’ claws. But beautiful as these lamps are, the light 
which they gave must have been weak and unsteady, and 
little superior to that of the old-fashioned common street 
lamps, with which indeed they are identical in principle. 
The wick was merely a few twisted threads drawn through 
a hole in the upper surface of the oil-vessel, and there was 
no glass to steady the light and prevent its varying with every 
breeze that blew. 

Still, though the Eomans had not advanced so far in art as 
to apply glass chimneys and hollow circular wicks to their 
lamps, they had experienced the inconvenience of going home 
at night through a city ill paved, ill watched, and ill lighted, 
and accordingly soon invented lanterns to meet the want. 
These, we learn from Martial, who has several epigrams upon 
this subject, were made of horn or bladder: no mention, we 
believe, occurs of glass being thus employed. The rich were 
preceded by a slave bearing their lantern. This Cicero 
mentions as being the habit of Catiline upon his midnight 
expeditions; and when M. Antony was accused of a disgrace- 


540 


POMPEII. 


ful intrigue, his lantern-bearer was tortured to extort a con¬ 
fession whither he had conducted his master.* One of these 
machines, of considerable ingenuity and beauty of workman¬ 
ship, was found in Herculaneum in 1760, and another, almost 



exactly the same, at Pompeii, a few years after. We give a 
drawing and a section of the former to explain its constmction. 
In form it is cylindrical, with a hemispherical top, and it is 
made of sheet-copper, except the two main pieces, M, M, 
* Val, Max. vi. 8. 
























DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


541 

which' are cast. The bottom consists of a flat, circular copper 
plate, supported by three balls, and turned up all round the 
rim (h, b, in the section), from which rise the rectangular 
supports, M, M, which support the upper part of the Irame, N. 



The top and bottom were further connected by the interior 
•uprights, P, P, between which and M, M the laminae of horn 
or glass were placed, and secured at the top and bottom by the 



























542 


POMPEII. 


doublings of the copper. Horn was the most common 
substance used to transmit tbe light, but bladder and other 
membranes were also employed. In the centre of the lantern 
is seen the small lamp. The cover is hemispherical, and 
lifts up and down: it is pierced with holes for the admission 
of air, and has besides the characters 'CAXiS 

pricked upon it. These have been interpreted, Tiburti Cati 
Sum, or Tiburti Cati S. (ervus), indicating, the one that it 
belonged to Catus, or that it was to be carried by his slave. 

A. Base, h, h. Kim of the base turned up. c, c. Interior 
rim, forming, with the exterior one, h, b, a channel, d, d, to 
receive the glass or horn side. e. Knob which fitted into a 



hole, g, in the bottom of the lamp, to keep it steady. F. 
Lamp, h, li. Oil receivei’i i. Moveable cover- sloping inwards, 
and pierced in the centre to receive the wick. 1. Tube to 
hold the wick,’with a vertical slit to admit the oil. M, M. 
Sup 2 )orts. N. Band round the top of the lantern: it consists 
of a copper plate with two edges doubled down, so as to form 
a cavity, o, o, to receive the upper edge of the glass or horn. 
P, P. Interior supports, connected with M, M, t3y pins, 4, 4, 
4, 4, showm in the separate view of M. q. Space for the horn 
sides, r, r. Pieces of metal of uncertain use. S. Cover. <, /, t. 
Holes to let off the smoke. U. Handle. X. Another handle 









DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


543 

attached to a vertical rod which passes through U, and lifts 
up the cover, which receives the uprights, M, M, into two 
notches, and is thus kept steady. 3. View of the upright, 
M. 5. Extinguisher, which is a hemisphere soldered on a 
narrow curved tube. 

One of the most elegant articles of furniture in ancient use 
was the candelabrum, by which we mean those tall and 
slender stands which served to support a lamp, but were 
independent of, and unconnected with it. These, in their 
original and simple form, were probably mere reeds or straight 
sticks, fixed upon a foot by peasants to raise their light to a 
convenient height ; at least such a theory of their origin is 
agreeable to what we are told of the rustic manners of the 
early Eomans, and it is in some degree countenanced by the 
fashion in which many of the ancient candelabra are made. 
Sometimes the stem is reiu-esented as throwing out buds; 
sometimes it is a stick, the side branches of which have been 
roughly lopped, leaving projections where they grew; some¬ 
times it is in the likeness of a reed or cane, the stalk being 
divided into joints. Most of those which have been found in 
the buried cities are of bronze, some few of iron. In their 
general plan and appearance there is a great resemblance, 
though the details of the ornaments admit of infinite variety. 
All stand on three feet, usually griffins’ or lions’ claws, which 
support a light shaft, plain or fluted according to the fancy of 
the maker. The whole supports either a plinth large enough 
for a lamp to stand on, or a socket to receive a wax candle, 
which the Eomans used sometimes instead of oil in lighting 
their rooms. Some of them have a sliding shaft, like that of 
a music stand, by which the light might be raised or lowered 
at pleasure. Of the two candelabra which fill page 544, 
one is of the simplest form; the other deserves notice on 
account of the ingenious construction by which it can be 
taken to pieces for the convenience of transport. The base 
is formed of three goat’s legs, each having a ring at the end 
and a ring on each side. The centre piece is attached to the 
side pieces by rivets, 3,4, round which these rings are allowed 
to turn, so that they lie either parallel when the candelabrum 
is taken to pieces, or may be made to stand at equal distances 
in the circumference of a circle, in which case the two ex¬ 
terior rings lap over each other, and are united by a moveable 


544 


POMPEII 



Candelabra. 



























































A 






1 







A?*»£ii.A5SA T^^SCS- 




































































DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 545 

pin. The end rings,' 5, 5, 5, which are placed at different 
heights, as shown at A, will then be brought into the same 
vertical line, and the round pin, C, which terminates the 
stem, passes through them, and is secured by a pin, 7, passing 
through the hole, 8, which keeps the whole tight. The shaft 
is square and hollow, terminated by two busts placed back to 
back, and surmounted wdth a kind of capital. Within this a 
smaller shaft, c, plays up and down, and is adjusted at the 
desired height by a pin, /. The busts represent Mercury 
and Perseus. The richer sorts of candelabra are remarkable 
for the profusion of delicate ornaments which is bestowed 
upon them. Usually the relieved parts appear to be cast in 
a mould. Some are beautifully damasked or inlaid with 
other metals. The upper part of another candelabrum is 
represented in a steel plate-given herewith. It is inferred, 
from a passage in Pliny, that the art of inlaying was carried 
to perfection in ^gina, while the solid parts, as the shaft and 
feet, were best cast at Tarentum. We give the passage in a 
note, which has been variously interpreted, and hardly bears 
out all the meaning which has been extracted fi*om it in the 
above version.* 

One of those elegant table lamps, by the praise of which 
the present discussion was introduced, is represented in the 
accompanying plate. Including the stand it is three feet high. 
On a rectangular plinth rises a rectangular pillar, crowned 
by. a capricious capital. On the front of the pillar is a mask 
of a Bacchante, with fine features and long flo\dng hair; and 
on the opposite side, the head of a bull, with the Greek word 
Bucranion. From the extreme points of the abacus, four- 
ornamented branches, beautifully chased, project; the lamps 
which now hang from them, though ancient also, are not those 
which belong to the stand, and were not found ^vith it. They 
are nearly alike in figure, but differ in size. Three of them 
are ornamented ^vith various animals, the fourth is plain. 
One of them has each of its ends wrought into the form of a 
shell. Above are two eagles in high relief, Muth the thunder¬ 
bolt of Jupiter in their talons. Another has two bulls’ heads, 
a third, two elephants’ heads projecting from the sides. The 

* Privatim .Egina candelabrorum superficiem duntaxat elaboravit, sicut 
Tarentum scapes. In hoc ergo commeiidatio officiiiarum est.—Hist. Nat. 
sxxiv. 3. 

2 N 


POMPEII. 


546 

latter is suspended by two dolphins, instead of the chains 
generally in use, whose tails are united, and attached to a 
small ball and ring. The pillar is not placed in the centre, 
but at one end of the plinth, which is the case in almost 
every lamp of this description yet found. The space thus 
obtained may have served as a stand for the oil-vase used in 
trimming the lamps. The plinth is beautifully damasked, or 
inlaid, in imitation of a vine, the leaves of which are of silver, 
the stem and fruit of bright brass. On one side is an altar 
with wood and fire upon it; on the other a Bacchus, naked, 
with his thick hair plaited and bound' with ivy. He rides a 
tiger, and has his left hand in the attitude of holding reins, 
which time probably has destroyed ; with the right he raises 
a drinking-horn. The workmanship of this lamp is exquisitely 
delicate in all its parts. 

We may here say a few words on the art of inlaying one 
metal with another, in which, as in all ornamental branches 
of the working of metals, the ancient Italians possessed great 
skill. In the time of Seneca, ornaments of silver were seldom 
seen unless their price was enhanced by being inlaid with 
solid gold.* The art of uniting one metal with another was 
called, by the general term, ferruminare. Inlaid work w’as 
of two sorts, in the one the inlaid work projected above 
the surface, and was called emhlemata, as the art itself was 
called, from the Greek, emhletice. It is inferred, from the 
inspection of numerous embossed vases in the Neapolitan 
Museum, that this embossed work was formed, either by 
plating with a thin leaf of metal figures already raised upon 
tlie surface of the article, or by letting the solid figures into 
the substance of the vessel, and finishing them with delicate 
tools after they were attached. In the second sort the inlaid 
work was even with the surface, and was called crusta,^ and 
the art was called, from the Greek, empcestice.'^. This is the 
same as the damask work so fashionable in the armour of the 
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which is often seen beauti¬ 
fully inlaid with gold. It was executed by engraving the 
pattern upon the sui’face of the metal, and filling up the lines 
with fine plates of a different metal; the two were then united 
with the assistance of heat, and the whole buimished. Pliny 


* Ep. 5. 


f Cic, vi. ve:-. 52. 


Athenaeus. 


DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


547 

Las preserved a receipt for solder, which probably was used 
in these works. It is called santerna; and the principal ingre- 



Bronze figure inlaid with embletic work. 


dients are borax, nitre, and copperas, pounded with a small 
(piantity of gold and silver in a copper mortar. 

The vase which accompanies the lamp in the plate just 


















548 


POMPEII. 


given was found in a house opj^osite to the side door of the 
covered portico of Euinachia. It is very elegant in shape, 
and is a good specimen of that which we have called embletic 
work. The inlaid ornaments are admirably relieved by the 
deep colour of the bronze. This specimen of ancient art is 
worthy to serve as a model to goldsmiths and chasers in 
metal. There are six different mouldings in it, each rich in 
variety of ornament. The beautiful proportions, and corre¬ 
spondence of the body and the foot, are also deserving of 
attention. Another vase in the same plate, of difierent form, 
is not perhaps less beautiful. It has three handles, one 
placed vertically, and two horizontally, at the sides. 

We give, on p. 547, another admirable specimen of inlaid 
work, in a bronze figure found in Pompeii in 1824. The 
cuirass is inlaid with silver. The upper compartment repre¬ 
sents Apollo encircled with rays, driving his four-horsed 
chariot: beneath is an allegorical figure of the earth, flanked 
by a bull on one side and a goat on the other. The figure 
is one foot eight inches in height. 

Before we quit this subject we have still one candelabrum 
to notice, which for simplicity of design and delicacy of 
execution is hardly to be sui*passed by any in the Neapolitan 
collection. The stem is formed of a liliaceous plant, divided 
into two branches, each of which supports a flat disc, which 
may represent the flower, upon which a lamp was placed. At 
the base is a mass of bronze which gives stability to the 
whole, upon which a Silenus is seated, earnestly engaged in 
trying to pour wine from a skin which he holds in his left 
hand into a cup in his right. In this figure all the distinctive 
marks of the companion and tutor of Bacchus are expressed 
with great skill; the pointed ears, the goat’s tail, the shaggy 
skin, the flat nose, and the ample rotundity of body, leave no 
doubt on our minds as to the person intended to be represented. 
The head, especially, is admirable, both in respect of work¬ 
manship and expression. 

Some remarkable tripods are figured and described in 
Mr. Donaldson’s Pompeii, and others will be found in the 
works on Herculaneum. We shall only speak of one, which 
is peculiar in construction, being contrived to open or shut at 
pleasure. Each of the legs is united to the others by two 
braces, the lower ends of which are at liberty to play up and 


DOMESTIC UTENSILS 


549 

down upon rings, wliile at the upper ends, and at the point 
where they cross each other, they are only allowed to move 
round a pin, or hinge. The pan at top merely rests upon a 
ledge, and can be taken off at pleasure. It is evident from 
the construction, that the legs may either he pushed close 
together or drawn further apart, until the rings reach the 



limit of their assigned range; and thus the tripod may be 
made to receive a larger or smaller vessel, according to the 
purposes for which it is wanted. 

Each of the legs is topped by the sacred serpent of Egypt, 
bearing the lotus on its head. It was believed that this 
animal had the power of killing others with a look; and, as 
master of the life of others, it was reputed immortal and sacred 








550 


POMPEII. 


to tlie gods, on whose heads it was often represented. We 
may presume, from this ornament, that this vessel belonged 
to the worship of Isis, which we know to have been extensively 
practised in Pompeii. • 



Moveable I’ripod. 

Another interesting class of household articles comprehends 
the braziers, which, in the want of that peculiarly English con¬ 
venience, an open fireplace, served at once to warm the rooms, 
to keep dishes hot, or boil water, and perhaps to perform 





















DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


551 

sucli culinary operations as required no elaborate preparation. 
One of these, intended merely to heat a room, we have already 
described in the chapter on baths; that which is here repre¬ 
sented is on a smaller scale, being intended for private use, 



and has more conveniences. The sides, which are of con¬ 
siderable thickness, are hollow, and intended to contain water, 
and the four turrets at the four corners are provided with 
moveable lids. From one of the sides there projects a cock, 
to draw off the water. The centre, of course, was filled with 
lighted charcoal, and if a tripod or trivet were placed above 
it, many processes of cooking, such as boiling, stewing, or 



frying, might be performed. Such a brazier as this, probably, 
was placed, in the winter, near the triclinium, where it would 
at once warm the dinner party, and minister in all its various 
uses to the service of the triclinium. Here is a tripod, such 








































552 


POMPEII. 


as might be used for the above purposes, with its pot or kettle, 
flanked by a frying-j)aii {sartago) on either side. The pot 
here figured is of the kind called cacabus, a cooking vessel, 
which is to be distinguished from alienum^ a caldron for 
boiling water. 

Our next specimen is intended for the same uses, hut is fiir 
more ornamental in its character. The form is new and 
elegant, and something modelled upon this pattern might be 



Brazier. 


introduced with advantage into those countries where chimneys 
and fireplaces are not in general use. It is fourteen inches 
square, exclusive of a semicircular projection, which is raised 
above the rim of the brazier, and made hollow to receive 
water. On the edge of this stand three eagles, with their 
heads curving downwards towards their breasts, intended pro¬ 
bably to support a boiler. A sort of tower rises at the side 
of this semicircular part, which has a moveable lid, with a 

































DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


553 

bust for the handle. The water was drawn off, as in the 
former instance, through the mask in front. 

The following vase, if not equal in beauty to those already 
described, is curious in form and rich in ornament. The lip 
is elegantly finished with a double row of ovoli. The handle 
is elaborate and elegant. Its design seems taken from a 
flower-stalk, which divides at top, and falls down on each side 
of the vase on tvro cornucopiae. Two goats recline upon the 
edge of the vase, looking towards each other. The junction 
of the lower end of the handle with the vase is richly orna¬ 
mented with acanthus leaves, and a winged child among them, 
holding a wine-skin. The base is disproportionately small. 



This seems, from the ornaments, to have been a wine-vessel, 
and probably was used in sacrifice, as well as in domestic 
life. 

The next groups of vessels, though nearly destitute of orna¬ 
ment, and probably of a very ordinary class, will serve to 
give us some idea of the cooking vessels of the Romans. 
The first four are ladles (simpula), used, among other purposes, 
for making libations from larger vessels. One of the most 
celebrated vases in the Neapolitan collection, was found with 
a bronze simpulum in it; and upon the vase itself there was a 
sacrificial painting, representing a priest in the act of pouring 
out a libation from a vase with the simpulum. 






554 


POMPEII. 


The other four vessels require and admit of little explana¬ 
tion. The first seems meant to hang over the fire, if we may 
judge from the eye at the top of the handle, which, with the 



massive leaves and volutes below the rings, and the ovolo 
moulding, is not without pretensions to elegance. Fig. 2 is 
only remarkable for a double handle, which lies upon the 



rim, and forms as it were an upper moulding. Figs. 3 and 4 
-are plain. Even these common vessels are not without a 
certain degree of elegance, both in form and workmanship. 







DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


555 


Great numbers of clay vases have been found, of which the 
following is a very beautiful specimen. The lip and base 
have the favourite ovolo moulding ; the body has two rows of 
fluting separated by a transverse band, charged with leaves, 

3 4 



Kitchen Utensils of Bronze, 


and with a swan in the centre. The neck of the vase is 
painted, and the same subject is given on each side. It repre¬ 
sents a chariot, drawn by four animals at full gallop, which 
appear to be intermediate between tigers and panthers. A 



Terra-cotta Vase. 


winged genius directs them with his left hand, while with his 
right he goads them with a javelin. Another winged figure 
preceding the quadriga, with a thyrsus in his left hand, is in 
the act of seizing the bridle of one of the animals. The 













556 


POMPEII. 


whole is painted in white on a black ground, except some few 
of the details, which are yellow, and the car and mantle of 
the genius, which are red. The handles represent knotted 
cords, or flexible branches interlaced, which terminate in the 
heads of animals. This vase is much cracked, probably in 
consequence of the violence of the fire. 

Some drinking vessels of peculiar construction have been 
found, which merit a particular description. The first are 
of the class called pura, or pvrt^es, from pvw, to draw oft’ 
liquid. These were in the shape of a horn, the primitive 
drinking-vessel, and had commonly a hole at the point, to 
be closed with the finger, until the drinker, raising it above 
his mouth, suffered the liquor to flow in a stream from the 
orifice, in the manner represented on p. 311. This method of 
drinking, which is still practised in some parts of the Medi¬ 
terranean, must require great skill in order to hit the mark 



exactly. Sometimes the hole at the tip was closed, and one 
or two handles fitted to the side, and then the base formed 
the mouth; and sometimes the whimsical fancy of the potter 
fashioned it into the head of a pig, a stag, or any other ani¬ 
mal. One in the Neapolitan Museum has the head of an 
eagle with the ears of a ram. These vases are usually of 




DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


557 

clay, but cheap as is the material, it is evident by their good 
workmanship that they were not made by the lowest artists. 



Above we give a group of vases of grotesque character, 
such as those to which Martial alludes in the epigram which 
we quote below.* “ I am the whim of the potter, the mask 
of the red-haired Batavian : boys fear my face, though you 
laugh at it.” One of them is more remarkable than the 
others; it represents the head of a Persian king, as we may 
conjecture from the upright tiara, which rises from a diadem 
pierced with holes, and has upon it two Persian figures, which 
are scarcely discernible in our engraving. The features 
have something of the character of a bugbear: wide, open 
eyes, ass’s ears, a long beard, and a most tremendous pair of 
mustachios, ever sedulously cherished by the eastern nations. 
In forming these caricatui’es, however, the artist had a graver 
end in view than either amusing men or frightening boys — 
that of guarding the drinker while in a helpless state of 
intoxication from the malign influence of an evil eye or the 
wiles of enchantment; for among the ancients, who believed 
devoutly in the power of drugs and sorceries of all kinds, 
the salutary power of averting those evils was assigned to all 
such grotesque figures as we have, here described. 

The learned seem to have been generally niistaken on the 
subject of glass-making among the ancients, who appear to 

* Sum figuli lusus RuH persona Batavi: 

Quae tu derides, ha:c timet o:a pi er.—Mart. xiv. 176. 











POMPEII. 


558 

have been far more skilful than had been imagined. The 
vast collection of bottles, vases, glasses, and other utensils, 
discovered at Pompeii, is sufficient to show that the ancients 
were well acquainted with the art of glass-blowing. 



On the next page we have something like a wine-basket, 
made of clay, called ayyoOrjKrj, or iyyvoOrjKrj^ by the Greeks, 
and incitega by the Romans, containing two glass vessels, of 
the kind called oivjSatfioVf because, being narrow in the neck, 
the liquor came out drop by drop. 







IJOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


559 

There is no doubt but that the Eomans possessed glass in 
sufficient plenty to apply it to purposes of household orna¬ 
ment. The raw material appears from Pliny’s account to 
have undergone two fusions; the first converted it into a 




Liquor-basket of clay, with Glass Vessels. 


rough mass called ammonitrum, which was melted again and 
became pure glass. We are also told of a dark coloured glass 
resembling obsidian, plentiful enough to be cast into solid 


Ornamental drinking-glasses, cast in a mould. 

statues. Pliny mentions having seen images of Augustus 
cast in this substance.* It probabl)^ was some coarse kind of 
glass resembling the ammonitrum, or such as that in which 
the scoriae of our iron furnaces abound. Glass was worked 
either by blowing it with a pipe, as is now practised, by turn¬ 
ing in a lathe, by engraving and carving it, or, as we have 
noticed, by casting it in a mould.’j* These two glasses, of 
* x.xxvi. 67, t 66. 





























> * 
f 


500 POMPEII. 

’ elegant form, appear to have been formed in the latter way. 
The ancients had certainly acquired great skill in the manu¬ 
facture, as appears both from the accounts which have been 
l^reserved by ancient authors, and by the.specimens which 
still exist—among which we may notice, as pre-eminently 
beautiful, that torment of antiquaries, the Portland vase, pre¬ 
served in the British Museum. We have already adverted 
to another vase of the same kind, and of almost equal beauty, 
found in one of the tombs near the Gate of Herculaneum. 
A remarkable story is told by Dion Cassius, of a man who, 
in the time of the Emperor Tiberius, brought a glass cup 
into the imperial presence and dashed it on the ground. 
To the wonder of the spectators, the vessel bent under the 
blow without breaking, and the ingenious artist immediately 
hammered out the bruise, and restored it whole and sound 
to its original form; in return for which display of his 
skill, Tiberius, it is said, ordered him to be immediately 
put to death. The story is a strange one, yet it is con- 
lirmed by Pliny, who both mentions the discovery itself, 
and gives a clue to the motives which may have urged the 
emperor to a cruelty apparently so unprovoked. He speaks 
of an artificer who had invented a method of making 
flexible glass, and adds that Tiberius banished him, lest 
this new fashion should injure the workers in metal,* of 
whose trade the manufacture of gold, silver, and other drink¬ 
ing-cups, and furniture for the table, formed an extensive and 
important branch. 

The Komans were also well acquainted with the art of 
colouring glass, as appears, among other proofs, from the 
glass mosaics, of which mention has been made. Pliny speaks 
of a blood-red sort, called hsematinon, from atp.a, blood, of 
white glass, blue glass, &c. The most valuable sort however 
was the colourless crystal glass, for two cups of which, with 
handles on each side (TTrepcora), Nero gave 6000 sesterces,| 
about 48Z. Under this head we may speak of the vases called 
murrliina, since one theory respecting them is, that they 
were made of variegated glass. Their nature however is 
doubtful, not so their value. Pliny speaks of 70 talents 
being given for one holding three sextarii, about four and a 


xxxvi. 67. 


t Ib. 67. 


DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


561 

half pints. Titus Petronius on his death-bed defrauded the 
avarice of Nero, who had compelled him, by a common piece 
of tyranny, to appoint the crown his heir by breaking a 
murrhine trulla, or flat bowl, worth 300 talents. Nero him¬ 
self, as became a prince, outdid all by giving 100 talents for 
a single capis, or drinking-cup, “ a memorable circumstance, 
that an emperor, and father of his country, should have drank 
at so dear a rate.”* Pliny’s description of this substance 
runs thus:— 

“It is to be noticed that we have these rich cassidoin f 
vessels (called in Latin murrhina) from the East, and that 
from places otherwise not greatly renowned, but most within 
the kingdom of Parthia; howbeit the principal come from 
Carmania. The stone whereof these vessels are made is 
thought to be a certain humour, thickened as it were in the 
earth by heat. In no place are these stones found larger than 
small tablements of pillars or the like, and seldom were they 
so thick as to serve for such a drinking-cup as I have spoken 
of already. Eesplendent are they in some sort, but it may 
rather be termed a gloss than a radiant and transparent clear¬ 
ness ; but that which maketh them so much esteemed is the 
variety of colours, for in these stones a man shall perceive 
certain veins or spots, which, as they be turned about, re¬ 
semble divers colours, inclining partly to purple and partly 
to white : he shall see them also of a third colour composed 
of them both, resembling the flame of fire. Thus they pass 
from one to another as a man holdeth them, insomuch as their 
purple seemeth near akin to white, and their milky white to 
bear as much on the purple.J Some esteem those cassidoin, 
or murrhine stones, the richest,* which present as it were 
certain reverberations of sundry colours meeting altogether 
about their edges and extremities, such as we observe in rain¬ 
bows ; others are delighted with certain fatty spots appearing 
in them; and no account is made of them which show either 
pale or transparent in any part of them, for these be reckoned 
great faults and blemishes ; in like manner, if there be seen 
in the cassidoin any spots like corns of salt or warts, for then 

* Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxvii. 7. The capis, therefore (so called a capiendo 
because it had handles), must have been much smaller than the trulla. 

Chalcedony, it is thus that Holland interprets the word. 

J Purpura candescente, aut lacte rubescente. 

2 O 


662 


POMPEII. 


are they considered apt to split. Finally, the cassidoin stones 
are commended in some sort also for the smell that they do 
yield.”* 

On these words of Pliny a great dispute has arisen. Some 
think that onyx is the material described, a conjecture founded 
on the variety of colours which that stone presents. To this 
it is objected, that onyx and murrha, onyx vases and murrhine 
vases are alike mentioned by Latin writers, and never with 
any hint as to their identity; nay, there is a passage in which 
Heliogabalus is said to have onyx and murrhine vases in con¬ 
stant use.f Others, as we have said, think that they were 
variegated glass; others that they were the true Chinese 
porcelain, a conjecture in some degree strengthened by a line 
of Propertius:— 

“Munheaq. in I’ai this pocula cocta focis.” 

At the same time this quotation is not so conclusive as it 
might have been, since Pliny speaks of murrha as “ hardened 
in the earth by heat,” and the poet may only have meant the 
same thing, though the expression in that case would be 
somewhat strained. To us, Pliny’s description appears to 
point clearly to some opaline substance; the precious opal 
has never in modern times been found in masses approaching 
to the size necessary to make vessels such as we have spoken 
of. The question is not likely to be settled, and it is not 
improbable that the material of these murrhine vases is 
entirely unknown to us, as the quarries of many marbles used 
by the ancients have hitherto eluded our research, and the 
marbles themselves are only known by their recurrence 
among ancient buildings. 

We may here notice one or two facts connected with glass, 
which show that the ancients were on the verge of making 
one or two very important discoveries in physical science. 
They were acquainted with the power of transparent spherical 
bodies to produce heat by the transmission of light, though 
not with the manner in which that heat was generated by the 
concentration of the solar rays. Pliny mentions the fact 
that hollow glass balls filled with water would, when held 

* Holland’s Pliny, xxxvii. 2 (^8th edit., Valpy). 

f Heliogabalus in murrhinis et onychinis miuxit.—larapridius, an Mont- 
tai.con, vol. v. 


dom:estic utensils. 


563 


opposite to the sun, grow hot enough to burn any cloth they 
touched ;* * * § but the turn of his expression evidently leads to 
the conclusion that he believed the heat to become accumu¬ 
lated in the glass itself, not merely to be transmitted through 
it. Seneca speaks of similar glass balls which magnified 
minute objects to the view.f Nay, he had nearly stumbled 
on a more remarkable discovery, the composition of light, for 
he mentions the possibility of producing an artificial rainbow 
by the use of an angular glass rod.J At a far earlier period 
Aristophanes speaks of the “ wXos, a transparent substance 
used to light fires with,” usually translated glass. The pas¬ 
sage is curious, as it shows a perfect acquaintance with the 
use of the burning glass. 

Strepsiades .—You have noted 
A pi ett}' toy, a trinket in the shops, 

Which being rightly held, produces fire 
From things combustible. 

Socrates. A burning glass 

Vulgarly called. 

Strep. You are right, ’tis so. 

Soc. Proceed. 

Strep .—Put now the case—your scoundrel bailiff comes. 

Shows me his writ—I, standing thus, d’ye mark me, 

In the sun’s stream, measuring ray distance, guide 
My focus to a point upon his writ, 

And off it goes, in fumo! § 


* Plin. xxxvi. 67. Cum addita aqua vitreae pil,-® sole adverse in tantum 
excandescunt ut vestes exurant. 

f But though he had observed the fact, he had not even approached to the 
*cause of it, for he refers the magnifying power solely to the water, in common 
with all other fluids, and evidently supposes that a plane surface would 
magnify as well as a spherical one. “ lllud adjiciam, omnia per aquam 
videntibus longe esse majora. Literas quamvis minutse et obscurae, per vitream 

pilam aqua plenam majores clarioresq. cernuntur.Si poculum impleveris 

aqua et in id conjeceris annulum . . cum in ipso fundo jaceat annulus, facies 
ejus in summo aquae redditur. Quidquid videtur per humorem, longe amplius 
vero est.”—Quaest. Nat. i. 6. 

+ “ Virgula solet fieri vitrea, stricta, seu pluribus aiigulis in modum clavae 
torosa: haec si ex adverse solem accepit, colorem talem qualis in arcu videri 
solet, reddit.” He goes on to say that this is because it tries to give an image 
of the sun, but cannot manage it, “quia enormiter facta est,” because it is 
irregularly made: “ si apte fabricata foret, totidem redderet soles, quot 
habuisset infectuias,” if it were fitly made it would give as many suns as it 
does colours.—lb. 7. 

§ Arist. Ne</). 766, ed Brmuk. 




POMPEII. 


564’ 

With the laws of reflection the ancients, as we know from 
the performances ascribed to Archimedes, were well ac¬ 
quainted. It is singular that being in possession of such re¬ 
markable facts connected with refraction, they should never 
have proceeded to investigate the laws by which it is governed. 

The first object figured in the annexed block, is a glass 
funnel, infundibulum; the second is described as a wine- 
strainer, but the method of its use is not altogether clear. 
The bottom is slightly concave, and pierced with holes. It 
is supposed to have been used as a sort of tap, the larger part 



being placed within the barrel, and the wine drawn off through 
the neck or spout, which is broken. Fig. 3 is a wine-taster, 
something on the principle of a siphon. It is hollow, and the 
air being exhausted by the mouth at the small end, the liquid 
to be tasted was drawn up into the cavity. 



Bronze Strainer. 


Another sort of strainer, of which there are several in the 
Neapolitan Museum, is made of bronze, pierced in elegant 











DOMESTIC- UTENSILS. 


565 

and intricate patterns. The Eomans used strainers filled 
with snow to cool their wines, and such may have been the 
destination of the one here represented. These were called 
cola vinarwL, or nivaria. The poor used a linen cloth for the 
same purpose.* 

With respect to the details of dross, the excavations, whether 
at Pompeii or Herculaneum, enable us to clear up no difficul¬ 
ties, and to add little to that which is already known on this 
subject. Still a short notice of the principal articles of dress, 
and explanation of their Latin names, may be expedient for 
the full understanding of some parts of oiu* subject. The 
male costume will detain us a very short time. The proper 
Roman dress, for it would be tiresome and unprofitable to 
enter upon the variety of garments introduced in later times 
from foreign nations, consisted merely of the toga and 
tunica, the latter being itself an innovation on the simple 
and hardy habit of ancient times. It was a woollen vest, for 
it was late before the use of linen was introduced, reaching 
to the knees, and at first made without sleeves, which were 
considered effeminate; but as luxury crept in, not only were 
sleeves used, but the number of tunics was increased to three 
or four. The toga was an ample semicircular garment, also 
without sleeves. It is described as having an opening large 
enough to admit the head and the right arm and shoulder, 
which were left exposed, having a sort of lappet, or flap 
(lacinia), which was brought under the right arm and thrown 
over the left shoulder, forming the sinus, or bosom, the‘deep 
•folds of which served as a sort of pocket. This is the com¬ 
mon description, which, we confess, conveys no very clear 
notion of the construction or appearance of the dress. The 
left arm was entirely covered, or if exposed, it was by gather¬ 
ing up the lower edge of the ample garment. 

The female dress consisted of one or more tunics, with an 
upper garment, called stola, which superseded the toga, 
originally worn by women as well as men. The stola is 
said to have been a more amj)le and ornamented sort of tunic. 
The tunic worn by women does not seem to have differed 
from that worn by men, except that it reached to the feet. 
Above the stola, women wore a mantle called palla or pallium, • 

* Attenuare nives norunt et 1 intea nostra ; 

Frigidior colo non salit unda tuo.—Mart. xir. 


POMPEII. 


5t)() 

This is said to have been thrown across the shoulders, the 
right end being gathered ujd and thrown over the left 
shoulder, leaving nothing but the right hand visible,* a 
description which does not tally with the annexed figure, 
taken from a statue found at Herculaneum, of a female 
clothed in a tunic and pallium, in’which the right arm and 



Draped Female Statue discovered in Herculaneum. 

shoulaer are uncovered. Here the pallium is short, after the 
Greek fashion; the ladies of Eome wore it trailing on the 
ground. The tunic has short sleeves which are fastened by 
buttons. The hair of this statue was gilt, though, since it 
has been exposed to the air, the lustre is gone, and nothing 
but a dull yellow colour remains. This singular and tasteless 
style of ornament may be explained by a senseless and extra¬ 
vagant fashion which prevailed, while blond hair was in 
fashion, of powdering the head with gold dust. The custom 
was imported from the East, where it was firactised, accord¬ 
ing . to Josephus, by the Jews. Several of the Koman 
emj)erors adopted it. The hair of Commodus was so brilliant, 
according to Herodian, partly from its natural whiteness, 
partly from the quantity of essences and gold dust with which 
* Facciolati. 





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• DOIVIESTIC UTENSILS. 567 

It was loaded, that when the sun was shining on it it might 
have been, thought that his head was on fire. 

The annexed steel plate, which represents a portion of one 
of the walls of the Pantheon, will at once depict the female 
dress on a larger scale, and convey some notion of the light 
and airy style of architectural painting, intermixed with 
figures, which is one of the favourite decorations of Pompeii. 
It represents a priestess playing on the harp, which she 
strikes with both hands, using with the right the plectrum, 
or quill. She is clothed in a white pallium, fringed with 
gold, which falls in rich folds below the knees. Her undei 
garment is a blue tunic; she has yellow shoes, a gold band 
confines her hair, and gold earrings and bracelets glitter on 
her ears and wrists. She is coming through a doorway, upou 
the architrave of which is a figure of Victory in a biga, lash- 
ing on her horses, which are full of animation. These 
figures are painted on a white ground, and produce an ad¬ 
mirable effect. 



Some minute speculations relative to one article in female 
dress have been based on a statue from Herculaneum, ir 
which a Neapolitan antiquary thinks that he has discovered 
the nature and construction of that compound garment called 










POMPEII. 


568 

the tunico-pallium, in which the appearance and uses of the 
tunic and mantle were united. It is the statue of a woman 
employed in buckling her dress over the right shoulder, 
having already fastened it on the left, in such a manner as to 
leave the arm bare. This dress he asserts to be the tunico- 
pallium, and gives the following description of it, which is 
stated to bo the result of much study and numerous experi¬ 
ments, assisted by the learning of several members of the 
Academy of Naples. 

The first and most important point is to establish that 
the double garment in question was composed only of one 
piece of cloth. This the author assumes to be four feet long 
and five feet six inches broad, varying in size of course with 
the stature of the wearer. Let this be represented by^ 
A B C D. Fold down the upper portion, one foot two 



inches deep, in the line E F, and the edge A B will coincide 
with G H, and E F H G will form the pallium or mantle. 
Join the edges E D, F C by folding the dress in the line 
I K L, leaving the fold E F H G on the outside; divide the 
top into three equal parts, and attach the back and front 
together by buckles placed at the points M N, and we have 
the tunico-pallium open at the right side. 

Having described the dress, the next thing is to place it 
on the wearer. Let her stand in the centre of the parallelo¬ 
gram e i I d; fix a fibula or buckle at the point N, passing 
the left arm through the aperture N I, and adjusting the 
buckle on the left shoulder ; then place the second buckle at 
M, on .the right shoulder, passing the head through N M, 













DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


5(59 


and the right arm through the aperture M E. The corners, 
E G, I K, will of course fall down in the direction indicated 
by the dotted lines, forming a simple, hut not inelegant 
drapery. In some figures the tunico-pallium is entirely open 
on the right side, E D; in others it is entirely closed from 



end to end, or open only for the space E G. This dress has 
been introduced in the ballets at the Neapolitan theatre San 
Carlo with very good effect. 

At this place two subjects taken from paintings may be 
introduced, representing two different ways of playing on the 
harp. Each is curious, as exemplifying a method, of playing 


























570 


POMPEII. 


which no modern nation has adopted. The first represents 
a female striking two harps at once, one held on her knee, 
the other placed beside her on a couch. The curved figure 
of both is remarkable, and may j)erhaps give a new and 



more forcible meaning to the epithet curva, in the lines of 
Horace:— 

Tu curva recines lyi-a * 

Latonam et celeris spicula Cynthise.—Od. iii. 28. 


The Romans, in speaking of harp music, used the expres- 


DOMESTIC UTENSILS. 


571 

sion “ mtus et forts caneref* to sing within and without; 
and this expression is rendered more intelligible by the cut 
from a painting given at page 569, from which it appears 
that sometimes, at all events, the harp had a double row of 
strings, as the Welsh harp sometimes has three strings. 
The musician here plays with both hands, without using the 
plectrum, and the surrounding figures seem to be watching 
her with admiration. 

The other subject, which is imperfect, represents a female 
playing with the plectrum or quill,f with which the chords 
were struck, instead of the fingers. This method of playing 
was held in early times in the highest esteem ; afterwards it 
was superseded by the use of the fingers, a far more natural 
and effective instrument. Here the musician strikes with 
both hands at once, with the right, intus, or the inner row of 
strings, with the plectrum; with the left, fpris. The harp is 
supported by a band passed round the left arm. 

Numerous articles of female ornament have been found, of 
which we have collected a few into one block. They are 
drawn of the same size as the originals. The first figure is 
an ean-ing, seen in front and sideways. It is a portion of a 
plain gold spheroid, very thick, with a metal hook at the 



back to pass through the ear. The next is of simpler con^ 
struction, having pearl pendants. Both these patterns seem 
to have been very common. No. 3 is a breast-pin, attached 
to a Bacchanalian figure, with a patera in one hand and a 
glass in the other. He is provided with bat’s wings, and 
two belts, or bands of grapes, pass across his body. The 
bat’s wings symbolize the drowsiness consequent upon hard 

* Cic. in Var. Act. ii. lib. 1. 20. 

f The mandolin is played to this day in Italy with a quill. 


572 POMPEII. 

drinking. No. 4 is a ring, with serpents’ heads. These are 
very common., To these we have added two combs. 

We conclude with two of the most important articles of a 



lady’s toilet-table—her mirrors and a box of pins. The 
former were made usually of steel, but sometimes of glass; 
the latter, we are told by Pliny, were brought from Sidon.* 

'■ xxxvi.- 36, 






















573 


ITINERARY. 

The following Itinerary is chiefly intended for those who 
can devote only a few hours to a visit to Pompeii, and wish to 
see the principal objects in the speediest and most striking 
manner. Such visitors however must not linger on the v/ay, 
and, if the time can be spared, it will be desirable to pay the 
buried city at least a second visit, wdien the princij)al objects 
may be examined more at leisure, and a few others may be 
added to the catalogue. The Itinerary is so contrived that 
the public buildings will be first visited, and then the private 
houses, according to the order observed in this work. 

There are two ways of reaching Pompeii from Naples ; 
either by the high road to Salerno, through Portici, Resina, 
Torre del Greco, and Torre Annunziata; or by the railway, 
which has a station wdthin two minutes’ walk of the Porta 
della Marina, or Sea Gate, now the principal entrance to the 
city. Whether the visitor enters Pompeii by this gate or by 
that of Herculaneum is not a matter of much importance. 
To those who perform the journey in a carriage both gates 
are equally convenient; but for the traveller by railway the 
Porta della Marina is much preferable, as the Gate of Her¬ 
culaneum lies at a considerable distance from the station. 
There is another entrance at the Porta Stabiana, but this will 
be convenient only for those coming from the south. We 
have selected the Sea Gate as the point from which to com¬ 
mence this Itinerary because it is the most frequented ; and 
we may add that it seems most natural to finish, rather than 
begin, with examining the tombs. 

From this gate a narrow and rather steep street leads 
straight to the Forum. At the top of it, just before entering 
the Forum, on the left-hand side, is the entrance to the Temple 
of Venus. After visiting this temple, proceed into the Forum, 
and turning to the left, along the side wall of the temple, 
under which may be seen the standard measures, visit the 
Public Granary and adjoining Prison. These buildings occupy 
the remaining space on the western side of the Forum, towards 
the north. 


% 


574 


POMPEII. 


From the northern bcfundary of the Forum the Temple of 
Jupitjr is projected into its area. On the north-eastern side 
of the temple the Forum was entered by a Triumphal Arch at 
the top of what is called the Street of the Forum, in which 
street is the temporary museum and library. Fronting the 
eastern side of the Temple of Jupiter stands the building 
called the Pantheon, or Temple of Augustus. Next to this, the 
remaining portion of the eastern side of the Forum is filled 
by public buildings in the following order towards the south 
—the Senaculum, the Temple of Mercury, and the Edifice of 
Eumachia, called Chalcidicum. The south side of the Forum 
is faced by three buildings called Curice, of which the middle 
one is supposed to have been the Treasury. At the south-east 
extremity of the Forum, adjoining the southern side of the 
street by which we entered it, stands the Basilica. These com¬ 
prise all the public buildings about the Forum. In the area 
of the Forum will be observed several pedestals for statues. 
Facing the southern side of the Basilica stand the Houses of 
Ghampionnet. 

Crossing from the Basilica to the opposite, or eastern side 
of the Forum, w^e enter a street called the Strada dell' Abhon- 
danza, or dei Mercanti. A little way down, on the right-hand 
side, facing the south-eastern angle of the Chalcidicum, is the 
house of the Cinghiale, or Wild Boar. Proceeding eastwards, 
the third street on the right, called Strada dei Teatri, leads 
down to the theatres. At the bottom of this street we enter, 
through a sort of Propylaeum, what is called the Triangular 
Forum. Towards the extremity of it are the remains of a 
Greek Temple, called the Temple of Hercules, and its appurte¬ 
nances. At the south-west extremity of the Forum is the 
House of Joseph II. On the eastern side is a long wall, in 
which there are several entrances into the Great Theatre. At 
the southern side of this theatre is the large quadrangular 
area called the Quarters of the Soldiers, or of the Gladiators. 
Adjoining the eastern side of the scene of the Great Theatre is 
the Small Theatre, or Odeum. This is flanked on the east by 
the Street of Stabioe, leading to the Porta Stahiana, the remains 
of which may be seen. Eeascending the Strada Stahiana 
towards the north, we find at the angle of the first street on 
the left, called the Street of Isis, the little Temple of AEsculapius. 
Close to it, on the left, may be seen through an aperture in 


ITINERARY. 


575 

the arch the aqueduct from the Sarno to Torre Annunziata. 
The Street of Isis brings us to the Temple of Isis, on the left, 
or south side of the street, and just beyond it to the Curia 
Isiaca, which communicates with the northern end of the 
Triangular Forum. Opposite the Temple of Isis is the 
recently excavated House of Cornelius Bufus, the proper 
entrance to which however is in the Street of Holconius. 
A little further on, at the angle formed by the Street of the 
Theatres and the Street of Holconius, is the house marked 
No. 4, sometimes called the House of Holconius, remarkable 
for the number and good preservation of the pictures still to 
be seen in it. 

We now return again into the Street of StabisB. from which 
we have diverged. It is from this point that the tourist, if 
so inclined, should proceed to the Amphitheatre ; but as it lies 
at a considerable distance, and presents nothing to distinguish 
it from the numerous other buildings of the same kind which 
may be seen in various places, the visitor, if pressed for time, 
will probably do best to pass it over. 

Proceeding northwards along the Strada Stabiana, we find, 
at the angle which it makes on the north with the Street of 
Abundance, the more recently discovered baths, called the 
Thermo} Stahiance. 

In the little street behind the baths, called Via del Lupanare, 
and in the lane leading into it, called Vicoletto del Balcone 
Pensile, may be seen the House with the Bestored Balcony, the 
Lupanar, and the House of Siricus, or Salve Lucrum. Opposite 
the last is the caupona, or tavern, on the outside wall of which 
are painted two large serpents, and the inscription— Otiosis 
locus hie non est, discede morator. 

Keturning into the Street of StabisB, and proceeding towards 
the north, the tourist may visit on the right-hand side the 
House of Marcus Lucretius. Hence proceeding to the point 
where the Street of StabisB is cut by the Street of Fortune, he 
may, if he has time, turn to the right and proceed straight to 
the Gate of Nola; but if his time is limited he will do better 
to turn to the left, and proceed towards the west along the 
Street of Fortune. Here he will see on the right, opposite 
the Vico Storto, the Casa degli Scienziati. On the left-hand 
side of the. Street of the Augustals, adjoining the Vico Storto, 
is the House of the Chace; next to this the House of Ariadne, 


576 


POMPEII. 


which rans back to the Street of the Augustals, on which 
side indeed is the principal and proper entrance. At the 
extremity of the Street of the Augustals, near its junction 
with that of Stabise, are the Houses of the New Fountain, the 
Baker, and the Trident. Returning into the Street of Fortune, 
the following buildings may be successively visited on its left, 
or southern side : the Souse of the Grand 'Duke, the Souse of 
the Figured Capitals, the Souse of the Black Walls, and at the 
angle made by the Street of Fortune and that of the Forum, 
the Temple of Fortune. The entrance is in the latter street. 
Opposite the Temple of Fortune, and occupying the whole 
insula which extends from the northern side of the Forum 
to the Strada delle Terme (a continuation of that of Fortune), 
are the old Public Baths. 

We have now visited all the principal objects lying to the 
south of the line fonned by the Street of the Baths and that 
of Fortune. To complete our inspection, the quadi-angular 
mass of excavations lying to the north of that line remains to 
to be seen; after which, leaving the city by the Gate of 
Herculaneum, we shall take a survey of the suburb called 
P.igus Augustus Felix, and the Street of the Tombs. 

Wo have already mentioned the House of the Scienziati. 
The first insula to the west of it need not detain us, but the 
second contains one of the most remarkable private buildings 
in Pom23eii, the Souse of the iaun. The next insula west¬ 
ward is chiefly noticeable for the Souse of the A nchor. We 
now cross the top of the Street of Mercury, the entrance to 
which is spanned by a Triumphal Arch, on which stood an 
equestrian statue of Nero. The insula bounded on the east 
by this street contains four houses—those of the Tragic Poet 
the Fullonica, or dyer’s house, and those of the Great and 
Little Fountain. The next insula to the west is occupied by a 
single house, that of Pansa, which for size and magnificence 
may dispute the palm with that of the Faun. 

Behind, and to the north of the four insula just described, 
lie four other insula. That which backs to the House of the 
Faun is chiefly remarkable for the Souse of the Labyrinth. 
The next, behind that in which is the House of the Anchor' 
contains three noticeable houses—those of Castor and Pollux 
of the Centaur, and of Meleager. The insula behind the 
Fullonica has the Souse of Adonis and that of Apollo, close to 


ITINERARY. 


577 


the city walls. The insula behind the House of Pansa con¬ 
tains nothing very remarkable. 

We will now return southwards down the street skirted on 
the east by the House of Pansa. At the top of this a small 
transverse street runs northwards into that leading to the 
Gate of Herculaneum. Just past their junction, on the left- 
nand side, stands the Souse of Julius Polybius. A little further, 
is the house called the Academy of Music, and 
adjoining it the Baker's Shop and Mills. Hext comes the House 
of Sallust and the Public Bakehouse, which seems to form part 
of it. ^ In this part of the street will also be found the room 
containing the casts of the four bodies found near the Street 
of Abundance. 

At this point the street branches to the right and left. At 
the point of separation stands a Public Fountain. Taking the 
street on the left, we find on its left side the House of the Fe¬ 
male Dancers. Just beyond, on the right, is a Soap Shop, and 
next to it the Dogana, or custom-house. These again are 
followed by the House of the Surgeon and that of the Vestals. 
On the other side of the street, opposite the surgeon’s house, 
is the House with Three Floors, and beyond this again, close to 
the city gate, the Shop of Albino. 

Before going out by the Porta Ercolanese, we may observe 
on the right, or eastern side, the steps for ascending the city 
walls. Outside the gate, on the left, are one or two tombs, 
and beyond a circular seat, or exedra, behind which is the 
Sepulchre of Mammia. On the right-hand side of the way, 
proceeding from the gate, are an unfinished sepulchre, then the 
Tomb of Terentius, just opposite to the exedra, and close to it, 
a Sculptor's Shop. Next come, on the same side, the Tomb of 
the Garlands, and beyond it a public seat, or resting-place. The 
remaining objects on this side of the way are a long building 
commonly called the Country Inn; before the northern end 
of this, the Tomb with the Marble Door; and beyond, the 
Sepulchre of Lucius Libella and that of the Arrian Family. 

The other, or western side of the way, is occupied for a 
considerable space beyond the exedra with the frontage of a 
large mansion called the Villa of Cicero. Beyond this, facing 
the inn, is an incomplete sepulchre; then come five more tombs 
in the following order—that of Scaurus, the Bound Tomb, the 
Tomb of Calventius, that of Ncevoleia Tyche, and the Triclinium 

2 i> 


578 


POMPEII. 


Funehre. The visit is then closed by inspecting the House 
of Diomede, the last structure on the left-hand side of the 
way. 


The following Synopsis of places to he visited will help to render the preceding 
Itinerary clearer. The figures show the pages where they are described. 




PAGE 



PAGE 

Baker’s Shop 


. 354 

House of the Cinghiale . 

. 

435 

Caupona .... 


. 467 

-of the Faun . 

, 

392 

Chalcidicum.... 



-of the Figured Capitals 

. 

443 

Country Inn. 


. 627 

-of the Grand Duke 

. 

443 

Custom-House . 


. 319 

-of the Labyrinth . 

• 

396 

Exedra and Tomb of Mammia 

. 529 

-of the Scienziati . 

• 

301 

Fountfiin .... 


. 89 

-of the Surgeon 


348 

Gate of Herculaneum . 


. 63 

-of the Vestals . 


346 

Great Theatre . 


. 204 

Houses of Championnet. 


440 

Greek Temple . 


. 150 

-of the Fountains . 

. 

385 

House of Adonis. . . 


. 390 

Lupanar. 


471 

-of Apollo . 


. 391 

Pantheon, or Temple of Augustus 103 

-of Ariadne 


. 443 

Porta della Marina . 

. 

67 

-of Castor and Pollux 


. 400 

Porta Stcibiana .... 

• 

66 

-of Cornelius Rufus 


. 453 

Prison. 


100 

-of Diomede 


. 480 

Public Bakehouse 


354 

-of Female Dancers 


. 350 

-Granary .... 

• 

100 

-of Holconius, or No. 4 

. 444 

- Seat ..... 

, 

527 

-of Joseph H. . 


. 437 

Room containing plaster casts of 


-of Julius Polybius 


. 346 

four bodies .... 


477 

-of Meleager . 


. 421 

Round Tomb .... 

• 

523 

-of M. Lucretius . 


. 455 

Senaculum ..... 


no 

-of Pansa . 


. 318 

Sepulchres of L. Libella and of 


-of Sallust . 



the Arrian Family 

. 

513 

-of Siricus . 


. 462 

Shop of Albino .... 

, 

344 

-of Three Stories . 


. 345 

Small Theatre .... 

• 

209 

-of Tragic Poet 


. 366 

Soap Shop. 


350 

-of the Anchor. 


. 399 

Soldiers’ Quarters . 

, 

145 

-of the Balcony 


. 473 

Standard Measures . 

, 

100 

-of the Black Walls 


. 443 

Steps for Mounting the Wall 

. 

59 

-of the Centaur 


. 418 

Temple of iEsculapius . 

• 

138 

-of the Chace . 


. 444 

-of Curia Isiaca 


144 
































SYNOPSIS. 579 


Temple of Fortune . 

PAGE 

. . 135 

■-of Isis .... 


-of Jupiter. 

. . 98 

-of Mercury 

. . 115 

-of Venus . 

. . 127 

The Basilica. 


The Fullonica 

. . 362 

The Old Public Batlis . 

. . 153 

Thermae Stabianje . 

. , 174 

The Three Curiae 

. . 124 


The Triclinium Funebre 

PAGE 

. 515 

Triangular Forum . 

. 150 

Triumphal Arch 

. 100 

Triumphal Arch . . , 

. 431 

Tomb of Calventius . . , 

. 522 

- of NsBvoleia Tyche 

. 518 

-- of Scaurus . , 

. 525 

- of the Garlands 

. 529 

- with the Marble Door 

. 513 

Villa of Cicero .... 

. 529 


THE END 













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PUBLIC BUILDINGS 


A 

B 

C 

D 

R 


& 

H 

HI 

K 


M 

N 

0 

P 

Q 

R 

S 

T 

Y 
W 
X 

Y 
Z 


Tanple vf J^ortune. 
Snudl Bcdhs 
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PanUieon.. 

Senxuziturri. 

Temple of Mercury. 
Edi/ice of Eumcufucu. 
School of Yemo/. 

(xirice. 

Basdica, 

Temple of Temis. 

Lesche, or Granccry. 
Pntorv. 

Stahicav Baths 
Gteek Tempi's . 

Curi/o Isuzca’. 

Temple of Isis 
Temple ofEsculapius. 
Great Theatre. 

SmoJL Theatre. 
Gladiators Barrack . 

T 

Gislom iiouse. 

Steps to ascend the Walls 


PRIVATE HOUSES. 


/ . 

•I . 

G . 

4 . 

5 . 

6 . 

7 . 

8 . 

9 . 
W . 
// . 
l‘Z . 
/g . 
14 . 
16 . 
16 . 

17 . 

18 . 
19 . 

‘to . 
■11 . 
ZZ . 
.23 . 
U . 
Z6 . 
‘16 . 
‘17 . 
‘l& . 
2,9 . 
W . 
3/ . 

32 . 

33 . 

34 . 
86 . 
■66 . 
37 . 
88 . 
‘69 . 

40 . 

41 . 
41 . 


Shop of Albinus. 

'fhemwpoliian . 

Rouse of the Wstals. 

Rouse of the Surpeon'. 

Soap Manu/hetory. 
TherrrwpoUian/. 

Rouses of several' stories . 
House ofRie TenuxLeBooicers. 
Rouse of Julius iPofybius . 
Rouse of the Chemist. 
Themwpvluem. 

Academy of Mime. 

Bakehouse. 

Rouse of Sallust. 

House of Haroissus. 

.Rouse ofHansa. 

House of the Poet. 

TuUomca . 

First House of Mosaic Fountain , 
Second B? J)? 
Rouse of Adonis. 

Rouse of Apollo. 

Bouse of the Ship. 

Rouse of the Anchor. 

Rouse of Castor and Polluoc . 
House of the Centaur. 

Rouse of SdJeager. 

House of lots and lo . 

House of Rie Faun . 

House of the Lnbyrmth 

House of the black Walls . 

Mouse of the. figured Capitals. 

House of Arradne 

Rouse of the Chaco. 

Bakehouse 

Rouse of the Marbles. 

House of Mais and Venus 
House of the Balcone Pensile 
Lupanate 
Elephant Inn . 

House of Sinicus. 

House of Venus and Mars. 








\ 


16.43 

44 

46 

46 


Houses of Champiomiet 
House of the Hitd' Boar. 

House of Joseph i,i . 

Rouse of the Sadptor. 

17 . House of Cornelius Bju/us . 

■18 . Mouse of Holconius . 

49 . .Rouse ofLiocretius . 

50 . Mouse of Apollo Cdharcedbus 

51 . House offhelXaduinent. 

(dew eoccavatiany 1866 .]. 


























































































































































































































































































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